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BltlTISH AND IMTK1) STATES BOUNDARY LINK— YAHK H1TER. 

SPIECE. 



FOUR YEARS 



BRITISH COLUMBIA 



VANCOUVER ISLAND. 



AN A \l OP THEIR FORESTS, RIVERS, COASTS, I> FIELDS, 

AM) RESOURCES FOR COLONISATION. 



i;y commandeb r. o. mayne, i;.x.. f.rg.s 




i& 





WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



LON DON: 

JOHN MUBJiAY, ALBEMABLE 8TBEET. 
1862. 

a .a a, 

The right <<> Translation it reserved 






LONDON : rKIN'TED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STLEET, 
AND CHARING CROSS. 



i 

ui 

a4» 



TO 

CAPTAIN GEORGE H. RICHARDS, R.N., 

OF H.M. SURVEYING SHIP ' HECATE,' 

UNDER WHOM I HAD THE HAPPINESS TO SERVE DUPING 

THE TIME I WAS IN THE COLONIES I HAVE 

ATTEMPTED TO DESCRIBE, 

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED, BY HIS SINCERE FRIEND, 

THE AUTHOR 



P E E F A C E. 



So little is yet known about British Columbia and Vancouver 
Island that the Author hopes his experience of four years, 
spent in the survey and exploration of both these Colonies, 
may be found of interest. 

To Dr. Wood, K.K, of H.M.S. < Hecate,' to the several 
travellers from whom information has been obtained and 
whose names occur in the book, as well as to the others — 
too many to enumerate — who have assisted him in various 
ways, the Author begs to return his thanks. 

To Mr. E. P. Bedwell, E.N., Dr. Lyall, and Dr. Lindley, 
for the sketches which enliven the text, his thanks are also 
gratefully tendered ; and last, but by no means least, to Mr. 
William J. Stewart — without whose aid these pages would 
probably never have seen the light — he gives his most 
cordial thanks. 

For any errors which may occur in the latter part of 
the book the author claims the reader's indulgence, as the 
revision of it has been carried on in great haste amid the 
bustle of fitting out a ship for foreign service. 

H.M& ' Eclipse, 1 October, 1862. 



s 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE I. 



PACiE 



Appointment to H.M.S. ' Plumper ' — Historical Sketch of the British 
Possessions m North- West America 1 



CHAPTER II. 

Leave England — Arrive at Sandwich Islands — Stay at Honolulu — 
King Kame-hame-ha and Prince Lot — The Straits of Juan de Fuca — 
Description of — Arrival at Esquimalt — Description of, and of Victoria 14 

CHAPTER III. 

Semiahmoo Bay — Gulf of Georgia — Visit Nanaimo — Coal — The Haro 
Archipelago — Discovery of Gold — (.'mix (punt Excitement — Growth 
of Victoria — Arrival of 1 1. M.S. ' Ilavannah ' — Threatened disturbance 
at Victoria — Arrival of Golone] Moody — Abatement of the Gold Fever 32 

CHAPTER IV. 
Humour of disturbance at Yale — 'Plumper' proceeds to Langley — Oanoe 

journey to Fort Hop* Foil Yale and Hill's Bar — Termination of the 

difficulty with the Minora — Miners generally -—-Expresses and Expn 
Men — New Westminster — Beturrj to Victoria — Difficulties arising 
from the h inn juration of Indians from the North 58 



CHAPTER V. 

Description of the River Fraser and the Country beyond — The Bush of 
British Columbia — American River Steamers — The Harrison-Lilloett 

Koute to Lytton — Account of Indian Guides, &c. — Gamp Life — The 
Canons on the Upper Fraser 70 

CHAPTER VI. 

Journey continued — Kamloops — Lite of the Hudson Bay employes — 
Indian Chief, St. Paul — Pavilion — The Harrison-Lilloett Route . . Ill 

CHAPTER VII. 

American occupation of San Juan Island — Arrival of the Flagship, H.M.S. 
' Gauges ' — Inlets of the Coast of British Columbia — Autumn Survey 
between Nanaimo and Victoria — The ' Plumper ' leaves for San Francisco 
— Our stay there .. .. 139 



x CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

PAGE 

Johnstone Strait — The North-East of Vancouver Island — Fort Kupert 
and Queen Charlotte Sound ! 164 

CHAPTER IX. 

Jervis Inlet — Overland to Port Pernberton — Ship goes to observe Eclipse 
— To Nanaimo with ' Alert ' and ' Termagant ' — ' Termagant ' runs 
ashore — ' Alert ' accompanies ' Plumper ' to Fort Kupert — Kescue of 
Female Slave — Ship goes round West Coast of Island, and I go down 
inside in boat and up Squawmisht Elver in canoe — Arrival of H.M.S. 
'Hecate' .. .. . .. .. .. 190 

CHAPTEE X. 

Turn over to the ' Hecate ' — Preparations for Summer's Work — Trip to 
West Coast to look for the ' Forward ' — Visit Nootka Sound — Survey 
of Barclay and Clayaquot Sounds, and Kemarks on West Coast of the 
Island — Promotion — Ship runs ashore 221 

CHAPTER XL 

Indians — The Coast Tribes — Classification — Manners and Customs — 
Notes from Mr. Duncan's Journal — Inland Tribes — Number — Infor- 
mation concerning them 242 

CHAPTER XII. 

Keligious and Educational condition of the Colonies 305 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Koutes to British Columbia — Agricultural Eesources of British Columbia 
and Vancouver Island — Natural History — Land System — Koads, 
Climate, &c 353 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Mineral wealth of British Columbia, Summary of — ■ Conclusion . . . . 426 



APPENDIX. 



Explorations in Jervis Inlet and Desolation Sound, British Columbia. 

By Me. William Downie 447 

List of Trees, Shrubs, Grasses, <fcc, found in Vancouver Island. By Dk. 

Forbes 455 

Land Proclamations relating to British Columbia 456 

Land Proclamations relating to Vancouver Island 461 

Index 465 



( xi ) 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

1. British and United States Boundary Line — Yahk 

River Frontispiece 

2. Indian Family Migrating Title Vignette 

3. Lady" of Sandwich Islands on Horseback .. .. to face 18 

4. Outside View or Victoria 29 

5. Cairn, etc., on the Boundary Line, at East Kootenay . . 32 

6. Nanaimo, from the Anchorage — Fort and Coal Works . . 35 

7. Vancouver Island Survey Detached Service — Griffin 

Bay — St. Juan Island 37 

8. West Orcas Sound, from Ship Peak 39 

9. A Street in Victoria 45 

10. Mount Baker from the Fraser River 87 

11. Church at New Westminster 89 

12. Block-House F»rt of Hudson Bay Company 117 

13. Sketch Map of Haro Archipelago, showing the three 

Channels 139 

14. U.S. Dockyard, Mare Island, San Francisco 159 

15. Head of Jervis Inlet 191 

16. Head of Isoris Arm, Nootka Sound 234 

17. Indian Woman and Child, the latter with head bound up 242 

18. Indian Burial-Ground 271 

19. Indian Girl, showing Conical form of Skull 277 

20. Map of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. By John 

Arrowsmith at the end. 



FOUR YEARS 



IX 



BRITISH COLUMBIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND. 



CHAPTEK I. 



Appointment to H. M.S. ' Plumper' — Historical Sketch of the British 
PoBseariona b North-West America. 

In February, 1857, I received my appointment as Lieutenant 
to H.M.S. ' Plumper,' then at Portsmouth, fitting out for 
service at Vancouver Island. 

This distant possession, and the adjacent mainland of 
British North America, were then little known and still less 
heeded. What little was known of them, from the chance 
visits of explorers, and their more recent occupation by the 
Hudson Bay Company for the purposes of then- great fur- 
trade, may be very briefly stated. 

The Spaniards were the first Europeans who set eyes 
upon the coasts of the Pacific. During the earlier half of 
the sixteenth century they busied themselves at intervals in 
exploring it. At that time Spain and Portugal were the two 
great maritime powers of Europe, and there had been 
concluded between them a treaty, which the Pope was 
expected to confirm ; by which, while the latter nation was 
to enjoy all rights of discovery and possession eastward of a 
meridian line passing 370 leagues west of the Cape Verd 



2 DRAKE'S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. Chap. I. 

Islands, to Spain were to pertain all seas and lands west of 
that line. 

There was another maritime power in Europe, however, 
which, although of little importance then, was destined one 
day to eclipse theirs totally. The rising navy of England 
was little disposed to consider itself bound by an arrangement 
that closed so many seas and shores against it. Nor was the 
English people, flushed with its recent repudiation of the 
Papal power, inclined to submit without a struggle to the 
partition of the unknown world by the Court of Eome. 
Elizabeth did not understand, it was explained to the 
Spanish ambassador, " why her subjects should be debarred 
from traffic in the Indies. As she did not acknowledge the 
Spaniards to have any title by donation of the Bishop of 
Home, so she knew no right they had to any places other 
than those they were in actual possession of. As to their 
having touched here and there upon a coast, and given 
names to a few rivers and capes, these were such insigni- 
ficant acts as could in no way entitle them to a proprietary 
farther than in the parts where they settled and continued to 
inhabit/' 

The adventurous mariners of that time were ready enough 
to act in the spirit of Elizabeth's protest, and entered upon 
the career of discovery in the West energetically. It must 
be confessed that they sometimes went beyond it, and the 
Gulf of Mexico — and later the southern shores of the Pacific 
— were haunted by free-traders and freebooters, who, carrying 
their defiance of Papal authority and Spanish prohibitions 
to an extent somewhat unjustifiable, plundered the Spanish 
settlements of the coast, and took and sacked their trading 
vessels. For a time it seems that their dread of the passage 
of the Straits of Magellan kept them from the Pacific ; but 
at length the reports which reached England of the wealth 
that lay there mastered their fears, and Drake in his first 
voyage round the world came there in 1578. A year later, 



Chap. 1. SEARCH FOR THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 3 

when he started to return, gorged with the spoil of the coast, 
being anxious to avoid the passage of the Straits of Magellan, 
where he might he intercepted by the Spaniards, he sailed 
west and north-west, thinking to reach home by that way. 
He is supposed to have got as far north as the 42nd — by some 
it is asserted the 48th — parallel of latitude, when, meeting 
adverse winds, and the wintry, foggy weather telling seriously 
upon his crew enervated by their stay in the sunny south, he 
was forced to return. 

In his wake came, among others, Cavendish, to the same 
shores, upon the same errand. In the year 1587, he captured 
a galleon near Cape St. Lucas, the southern extremity of 
California. Setting fire to the vessel he landed the Spanish 
crew upon the friendless, desolate shore, where they were like 
to perish of exposure and starvation. Fortunately, however, 
a storm blew their deserted vessel ashore in their immediate- 
vicinity ; and repairing it as well as they could, they set sail 
and in time reached Europe. Among them there happened to 
be a Greek sailor, named properly Apostolos Valerianos, but 
more commonly known by the designation used by his fellows 
— Juan deFuca, of whom we shall have to say more hereafter. 

About this time that search began, which our own dayfl 
have seen concluded, for a northern passage of communication 
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The English and 
the Dutch had already prosecuted it eagerly, and vague 
reports were rife in the maritime world of its having been at 
one time or other really made. 

Among them the following narrative was current. It 
will be found related at full length in an historical and 
geographical collection called 'The Pilgrim,' published by 
Samuel Purchas, in 1625, under the title of * A Note made 
by Michael Lock the elder, touching the Strait of Sea com- 
monly called Fretum Arrianum, in the South Sea, through 
the North-west Passage of Meta Incognita. ' The following 
is a summary of Mr. Lock's narrative. 

b2 



4 MR. LOCK'S NARRATIVE. Chap. I. 

That being at Venice in the year 1596 , upon business con- 
nected with the Levant trade in which he (Mr. Lock) was 
concerned, he came across an old man, aged 60, called Juan 
de Fuca, but named properly Apostolos Valerianos, a Greek 
mariner, an ancient pilot of ships. The account which he 
gave of himself was that he had come from Spain to Florence, 
whence, finding one John Douglas, an Englishman, a famous 
mariner, ready coming to Venice, he had accompanied him 
thither. This John Douglas, to whom the Greek seems 
to have been communicative, being acquainted with Mr. 
Lock, gave him knowledge of the old pilot, and brought 
them together that his brother Englishman might in his turn 
listen to his passenger's yarns ; and so we are informed that, 
in many long talks and conferences, the following story came 
out. 

Apostolos Valerianos, by his then name of Juan de Fuca, 
professed to have been in the West Indies of Spain for forty 
years, and had sailed to and fro many places in the service of 
that power. He happened to be in the Spanish ship which, 
in returning from the Philippine Islands, was taken off Cape 
California by Captain Cavendish ; upon the occasion of that 
capture, losing 60,000 ducats of his own goods. 

Subsequently to this event he had been in the service of 
the Viceroy of Mexico, and on one occasion had been sent 
with a small caravel and a pinnace up the shores of Cali- 
fornia, now called North America. He reached the latitude 
of 47° ; and there finding that the land trended north and 
north-east, with a broad inlet of sea between the 47th and 
48th parallels, he entered the same, sailing therein more 
than twenty days, — still finding land, trending sometimes 
north-west, and north-east, and north, and also east and south- 
eastward, with much broader sea, islands, &c. So he sailed 
until he came to the North Sea, finding it wide enough 
everywhere, and then, being unarmed, and the native people 
being savage, he returned, and was not rewarded for his 



Chap, I. MR. LOCK'S NARRATIVE. 5 

services. Having thus a grievance with Spain, he was willing- 
to serve England, by whom he hoped to be recompensed 
for his loss by Captain Cavendish, who by this time was 
dead. And if His Majesty would but give him a ship of 40 
tons' burden, he undertook on his part to perform the North- 
West passage in thirty days. 

Upon this Mr. Lock wrote to Lord Treasurer Cecil, Sir 
Walter Ealeigh, and Master Kichard Hakluyt, the famous 
cosmographer, and prayed them to disburse him 100?., to 
bring the pilot to England, his purse not stretching so wide. 
To his request came an answer, that the action was well liked 
and greatly desired by his correspondents in England, but no 
money ; and the Greek pilot sailed for Cephalonia, his native 
place. Mr. Lock, it further appears, at a later period corre- 
sponded with him there, and he wrote in reply, stating that 
he was ready to come with twenty companions and fulfil his 
promise, but that money was indispensable, for he had been 
utterly undone in the ship ' Santa Anna/ taken by Captain 
Cavendish. No money, however, was forthcoming until much 
later, when Apostolos Valerianos, being then an old man, at 
the point of death, could not take advantage of it. 

This story of the old Greek pilot's was long current in 
England, and, although it was considered legendary by some, 
it generally met with credit. There were not many, however, 
who had the courage or the fortune to test its accuracy. As 
late as the year 1709, — although we know that long before that 
time the shores of the Atlantic as high as the 74th parallel 
of latitude, had, in the search for the long-desired North- 
West Passage, been explored and taken possession of by the 
Hudson Bay Company, — little, if anything, of the Pacific 
above the 43rd parallel north was known. About that time, 
however, the Spaniards sailing north came upon the mouth of 
the Columbia River, while the Russians began to push down 
from their far-away settlements at Kamschatka. But it was 
not until the year 1776 that the British Government, having 



6 . CAPTAIN COOK — VANCOUVER. Chap. I. 

thirty years before offered a reward of 20,000Z. to whoever 
should make the passage between the Atlantic and Pacific 
from either sea, commissioned Captain James Cook to examine 
the shores of the latter ocean. His instructions were to sail 
for the 45th degree of latitude north. Having reached it he 
was to make his way northward to the 65th, searching in his 
course for rivers or inlets pointing towards Hudson or Baffin 
Bays; taking possession, by the way, of the new lands he 
might discover, in the name of his master, King George. 

In March of the year 1778, Cook sighted the coast at 44°, 
sailing thence up to 48°, where he named the projecting 
point of the shore Cape Flattery. Southward of Cape Flattery, 
Cook examined the coast with minute care, having it in his 
mind to decide for ever upon the truth or falsity of the 
story of Juan de Fuca's discovery, which had so long been 
current. The old pilot, in his account, had put it between 
the 47th and 48th parallels of latitude. Examining this 
extent of the shore carefully, and with no success, Cook 
authoritatively pronounced the Greek's story a fiction, and 
sailed on past the wide strait that now bears Fuca's name, 
stopping at Friendly Cove and Nootka Sound, which he took 
to be part of the main shore. It was not, indeed, until ten 
years later that Captain Berkeley, an English seaman in 
charge of a merchant-vessel, found that a passage of some 
sort existed, immediately north of Cape Flattery. He did not 
explore it, but a year later an English naval officer on half- 
pay, Captain Meares, coming upon it, named it the Strait of 
Juan de Fuca, and sailed up it in a boat some thirty leagues, 
until, attacked by the natives on the northern shore, he was 
forced to return. 

A few years later there were matters of difference between 
the Governments of Spain and Great Britain relative to the 
north-west coast of America and the navigation of the Pacific ; 
and in the year 1792, Captain Vancouver, an officer in the 
English navy — and not, as has been often erroneously sup- 



Chap. I. DISCOVERY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND. 7 

posed, a Dutchman— was despatched to Nootka, to settle, 
with the Spanish Commission, named for the like purpose, 
what lands, buildings, and vessels seized there by Spain 
should be restored to England, and the amount of indemni- 
fication that should be paid her. 

In addition to the official business upon which he was de- 
spatched, Vancouver was directed to explore the coast of the 
Pacific, from the 35th to the 60th parallels of north latitude, 
and to look out for any water passage, which it was still 
thought might be found connecting the two oceans ; parti- 
cularly the Strait of Juan de Fuca, reported as recently re- 
discovered. On Vancouver's reaching Nootka, he found the 
Spanish Commissioner had not arrived, and proceeded to 
survey the Strait of Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, and thence north- 
ward. On the 22nd June, 17 ( J2, as he was returning to his 
ship from Jervis Inlet, he met the ■ Sutil ' and ' Mexicans,' 
two men-of-war, commanded by Signors D. Galiano and C. 
Valdes, and forming part of the Spanish exploring expedition. 
These' officers exchanged information in the most friendly way. 
Then separating, Vancouver, after long and difficult naviga- 
tion, forced his way between the islands of the Gulf of Georgia 
and through the strait named by him Johnstone, coming at 
length into the Pacific, at Queen Charlotte Sound, 100 miles 
north of Nootka. The island thus discovered it was decided 
should bear both their names, and will be found designated in 
all but quite recent maps, Q.uadra and Vancouver Island 

Let us now inquire what was known of these regions from 
the eastern side of the great American continent. The first 
to reach them, crossing the Rocky Mountains from Canada — 
the first at least who left the impress of his name there — was 
Mr. Simon Fraser, an employe of the North-West Company, 
an association formed in Canada to rival the Hudson Bay 
fur-trade. Mr. Fraser, penetrating the range of mountains 
from Fort Chipewyan, in 1806, formed a trading establish- 
ment upon a lake bearing his name, situate on the 54th 



8 PEESIDENT MONKOE'S CLAIM. Chap. I. 

parallel of latitude. Later, rival American fur companies 
were formed, and in 1810 the most important of them, the 
Pacific Fur Company, having at its head Mr. Astor, a German 
merchant of New York, founded the well-known, unsuccessful 
settlement bearing his name at the entrance of the Columbia 
Eiver. 

Before this time, the shores of the Pacific, the theatre of 
these comparatively unimportant events, attracted little if 
any attention from the Governments, who were yet prepared 
to lay claim to their exclusive possession, whenever their 
occupation should appear valuable. About this period, how- 
ever, the attention of the American Congress was directed 
to the districts through which the Columbia flowed ; and the 
subject being referred to a Committee of the Senate, a report 
was made by it, that all the territory in question, from the 
41st to the 53rd, if not to the 60th degree, belonged to the 
United States. Their claim to its possession was grounded 
upon the purchase of Louisiana from France in the year 180^, I 
and the acquisition of what titles of discovery and occupation 
might be possessed by Spain, by the Florida Treaty of 1818 ; 
together with the rights conferred by the settlement of 
American citizens there. No active steps, however, to 
enforce these pretensions were taken until 1823, when Pre- 
sident Monroe, in his Address to Congress, asserted that the 
American continent was henceforth not to be considered as 
subject for colonisation by any European Powers. 

There were but two Powers with any pretensions to oppose 
the claim of the United States to the exclusive possession of 
the shore of the Pacific, viz., Russia and Great Britain. The 
former had for many years been settled in some force at 
Sitka and the neighbourhood. Both by Great Britain and 
the States of America, the right of Russia to the districts 
which she had in some measure colonised was readily con- 
ceded. In 1824 a convention was entered into between that 
Power and America, by which Russia bound herself not to 



Chap. I. THE BOUNDARY QUESTION. 9 

encroach south of a line drawn at 54° 40', and in the follow- 
ing year Great Britain entered into a similar treaty ; both 
nations thus confirming the claims of Kussia, but careful in 
no way to compromise their own, to the country south of the 
line of boundary thus laid down. 

It can serve no purpose to rake up the yet live embers of 
the irritating and difficult boundary dispute between this 
country and the United States, relative to the possession of 
that portion of the shore of the Pacific which has 'since 
proved so valuable. It is sufficient to say, that by conven- 
tions renewed at intervals, the territories and waters claimed 
by either Power west of the Eocky Mountains were declared 
to be free and open to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of 
both ; until, urged by their growing importance, and the 
impatience of settlers east of the Eocky Mountains to colonise 
them, the boundary question assumed the importance of a 
great political crisis, more than once threatening to result in 
war. Happily this was averted, and in 1844, by a treaty, the 
details of which were settled at AYashington by Mr. Richard 
Pakenham on behalf of the British Government, the line of 
boundary from the Rocky Mountains to the sea was declared 
to be the 49th parallel of north latitude. The course which 
the line should take upon reaching the sea — fertile as it has 
been and may still be in difficulties and misunderstandings — 
was thus declared to continue to " the centre of the Gulf of 
Georgia, and thence southward, through the channel which 
separates the continent from Vancouver Island, to the Straits 
of Juan de Fuca." It was subsequently found that there 
were three separate channels existing between the island and 
the mainshore, and contention arose as to the construction of 
the treaty in respect to them. 

In the year 1850 the American Government appointed a 
commission to settle this disputed line of boundary after it 
reached the sea-coast, as well as to determine the course which 
the parallel of 49° took across the continent. 



10 SURVEY OF DISPUTED WATERS. Chap. I. 

The English Government in their turn appointed Commis- 
sioners for the like purpose. Captain Prevost was the first 
selected, and in the autumn of 1856 was ordered to commis- 
sion H.M.S. ' Satellite ' and proceed to Vancouver Island. It 
was then discovered that no accurate chart of the channels in 
dispute between the island and the mainshore existed ; that 
the position and extent of the group of islands among them 
were very imperfectly known ; while the relative value of the 
channels themselves could only be arrived at from such 
meagre information as the masters of two or three Hudson 
Bay Company's trading vessels were able to give. It was 
therefore determined that a surveying vessel should also be 
despatched — in the first place to make a complete survey of 
the disputed waters, and afterwards to continue it along the 
coasts of Vancouver Island and the mainland of the British 
territory. For this purpose Captain George Henry Kichards 
was selected, and commissioned H.M.S. ' Plumper.' 

The ' Plumper ' is what is called in the navy an auxiliary 
steam-sloop, barque rigged, of 60-horse power, and armed 
with two long 32-pounders and ten short ones, of a pattern 
which has now nearly gone out of date. She had been paid 
off from a long cruise on the West Coast of Africa the day 
before Captain Eichards commissioned her, and it was not 
to be wondered at that when she came to be " overhauled " 
in the dock she was found very rotten in some parts. It was 
discovered also that she would be very inefficient for the sur- 
veying work unless a chart-room were built on deck, and 
accordingly this had to be done. Owing to these causes her 
preparation for sea was greatly prolonged, and we were not 
ready for a start till the middle of March. 

Captain Eichards was well known both as a surveyor and 
an Arctic explorer, he having been the Commander of Sir E. 
Belcher's ship the ' Assistance,' in the search for the remains 
of the Franklin expedition, and having while there made one of 
the longest and most harassing sledge-journeys upon record. 



Chap. I. THE ' PLUMPER ' COMMISSIONED. 11 

He had previously assisted in the surveys of the Falkland 
Islands, New Zealand, Australia, &c. Besides the command 
of this survey, Captain Richards received an appointment as 
Second Commissioner for the settlement of the boundary, in 
conjunction with Captain Prevost. Of the other officers, Mr. 
Bull, the master, was the principal surveyor, and with him 
were Messrs. Pender and Bedwell, then second masters, now 
masters. These three, with the captain, made the whole of 
the surveying staff at starting. Of course in five years several 
changes have taken place. On Mr. Bull's death Mr. Pender 
became the senior assistant-surveyor, and other junior officers 
have learnt the work and have been added to the strength 
of the survey. The surgeon, at that time Dr. Forbes, under- 
took the Natural History and Botanical departments ; but he 
was likewise changed. He was invalided when the ship 
arrived at Valparaiso, and relieved by Dr. Lyall. Subse- 
quently when the Laud Boundary Commission, under Colonel 
Hawkins, arrived at Vancouver Island, Dr. Lyall was detached 
from the ship to them, and his place taken on board by Dr. 
Wood. 

The repairs which were found necessary before the 
' Plumper' could start for so long a voyage, kept us in 
Portsmouth Harbour till the 11th of March, on which day we 
made our trial trip on the measured mile in Stokes Bay. 
The average speed obtained was six knots (nautical miles of 
2000 yards each) per hour, which, although as much as we 
expected from the horse-power of the vessel, we afterwards 
found by no means adequate to the rushing currents in the 
inner waters between Vancouver Island and British Columbia. 

Recurring to my description of our destination, I may 
remark that the manner in which the northern shores of the 
Pacific are parcelled out is simply thus. From the Mexican 
boundary, as far north as the 49th degree of latitude, the 
Americans hold possession ; a few colonists at long intervals 
being thinly scattered over the states of Oregon and Wash- 



12 HUDSON BAY COMPANY. ♦ Chap. I, 

ington. Vancouver Island had in the year 1843 first been 
occupied by the Hudson Bay Company, a party of whose 
employes, landing at Victoria, had settled there, building a 
fort and laying the foundation of what became an important 
trading station. In 1849 a grant of the island to the same 
Company was made by the Home Government, upon condition 
that within five years steps should be taken by the lessees for 
its perfect colonisation. What steps were taken, however, 
proved unsuccessful ; and at this time, beyond a somewhat 
prosperous station and farm at Victoria, a fort at Eupert, in 
the north of the island, and a small settlement at Nanaiino, 
no use of Vancouver Island was made by the English. Of 
the mainland, secured to Great Britain by the boundary 
treaty of 1844, and known then as New Caledonia, the same 
Company also held possession under a similar grant. It was 
used by them exclusively for the purposes of their fur-trade, 
a few forts at distant intervals sheltering them from the 
Indians and serving as trading stations. 

North of the British possessions the Russians were busy, 
too, in the pursuit of furs, which they exported to China and 
their own country. The mainland of their possessions was 
utterly valueless for any other purpose, the islands only being 
available for agriculture. They, too, possessed their forts 
and factories, but in greater number and strength than the 
English, having taken further trouble to colonise the country. 
The aboriginal inhabitants pay formal allegiance to the 
Bussian- American Trading Company, in the service of which 
they are bound to enter, if required ; while from the more 
distant tribes tribute of furs is enforced. Moreover the 
Company possess twenty-eight establishments south of Beh- 
ring Straits ; and on Baranof Island, at Sitka, or New 
Archangel, the capital of Russian- America, a fortified town 
will be found, with arsenals, shipyard, foundry, hospital, a 
church, splendidly adorned shops, schools, library, museum, 
and laboratory. 



Chap. I. RUSSIAN SETTLEMENTS. 13 

Such, briefly, was the condition of the neglected and 
unknown land for which the ' Plumper ' was bound. This 
much was known of it : and that its area, exclusive of Van- 
couver Island, itself half the size of Ireland, was about three 
times as large as Great Britain, with a coast-line of 500 miles, 
made up of lake and mountain, forest, marsh, and prairie. 



14 PASSAGE OUT. Chap. II. 



CHAPTEE II. 



Leave England — Arrive at Sandwich Islands — Stay at Honolulu — King 
Kanie-hame-ha and Prince Lot — The Straits of Juan de Fuca — Descrip- 
tion of — Arrival at Esquimalt — Description of, and of Victoria. 

On the 12th of March we left Portsmouth ' for Plymouth, 
getting away from England finally on the 26th of the same 
month. During our passage out we met with several acci- 
dents, which had the effect of delaying our arrival at our 
destination for a considerable while, but which would be of 
little if any interest to the reader. I may say shortly, then, 
that after springing a leak in the Bay of Biscay, which com- 
pelled us to run in to Lisbon, and breaking the screw-shaft a 
few days later, which left us for some time without the aid of 
steam, we reached Kio Janeiro on the 25th of May. We were 
detained here until the necessary repairs could be effected, 
leaving it on the 9th of July. After meeting with nothing 
more remarkable than a heavy gale off the River Plate, we 
entered the Straits of Magellan on the 29th of July, and were 
detained there by stress of weather for three weeks. On the 
19th of August, however, we passed out, and picking up a fair 
wind, reached Valparaiso on the 28th of the same month. 
Starting thence on the 8th of September, we arrived, after a 
pleasant passage, at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, on the 16th 
of October. 

Although our stay at Honolulu was short, opportunity was 
given us to see a great deal of the place and neighbourhood. 
Of late 3^ears, from being a mere Indian village, it has become 
an important harbour for the ships engaged in whale-fishing 
in the North Pacific. This is conducted principally by vessels 
of the United States ; and the white population of Honolulu, 



Chap. II. KING KAME-HAME-HA. 15 

therefore, is almost exclusively American. It is no secret, I 
believe, that great efforts have been made by these settlers 
and their Government for the annexation of the Sandwich 
Islands. In this they have been baffled by their own unpopu- 
larity, and the strenuous counter-exertions of the advisers of 
King Kame-hame-ha II., who have been hitherto selected 
from the few English and Scotch residents in his dominions. 
Kame-hame-ha, indeed, is essentially English in his habits, 
dress, the fashion of his residence, and in his system of govern- 
ment, which is enlightened and progressive. He has for his 
chief adviser a very worthy old Scotch gentleman, by name 
Wylie ; and his queen is the daughter of an Irish settler in 
his dominions, and a very pleasant, sensible woman. 

Personally this monarch with the unpronounceable name 
is a well-educated, gentlemanly man, who speaks English 
and French fluently, and who has travelled a good deal both 
in Europe and America. It is said that, when travelling in 
the States, he was not allowed at some place to join the 
table d'hote, on account of his having black blood in his veins, 
although he is really little, if at all, darker than a sunburnt 
Englishman. Considering the many temptations incidental to 
his position, and that his royal father was, I believe, almost a 
savage, Kame-hame-ha II. may, in extenuation of his evil 
habits, offer pleas which have before now excused the much 
more glaring excesses of enlightened European monarchs 
and gentlemen. Unfortunately, King Kame-hame-ha is not 
without many social faults ; but though addicted, as there is 
no doubt he is, to the pleasures of the table and conviviality 
generally, I believe him to be anything but the drunkard 
and debauchee that I have heard him called by some of his 
guests and critics. 

Something — much, I think — should be conceded to the 
influences of his childhood, and the difficulties of his maturer 
years. Son of a father who, although wild and uncultivated 
as any North American Indian, had seen enough of the ad- 



16 KING KAME-HAME-HA. Chap. I L 

vantages of education to desire them for his son, he was put 
under competent masters, and afterwards sent to travel ; thus 
European habits, tastes, and manners were engrafted upon 
his semi-wild nature. Of course these placed a barrier for 
ever between him and his native subjects. He could no 
longer associate with them, and he naturally joined the only 
society that was in the least suited to him — viz., that of the 
American residents. Among these he had offered him the 
choice of the American missionaries or merchants. The 
former, though most exemplary and useful men, who have done 
a great deal of good among the natives and the crews of the 
whaling ships, led lives far too austere and ascetic to please 
the young monarch. The others, however ineligible asso- 
ciates for a young man with strong passions, had at least the 
merit of being pleasant companions. It is therefore, perhaps, 
little to be wondered at that he should have preferred their 
society. 

The King may frequently be met at the houses of his 
«t foreign subjects, at their balls, dinners, and supper parties ; 
and although always treated with a certain amount of defer- 
ence, and placed in the seat of honour, it sounds strange to 
hear a man say across the table, " King, a glass of wine with 
you !" or, "Do you feel like brandy-and-water this morning, 
King ? " I believe in his heart, Kame-hame-ha is thoroughly 
sick of his present life ; but the task of reformation is no 
easy one, and he has no one to help him in it. He has lately 
expressed a great desire that England should assist him 
socially and morally, as she has done politically. He has 
long desired the establishment of the Church of England in 
his dominions. So anxious is he for this, that he has post- 
poned the christening of his child in the hope of being able 
to have that ceremony performed by an English bishop. He 
endeavoured to enlist the sympathies and obtain the services 
of the Bishop of British Columbia for this purpose; and 
failing that, Queen Emma actually at one time contemplated 



Chap. II. A "HULA-HULA." 17 

making the voyage to England with her child, with the 
double object of having him baptised by episcopal hands, 
and of inducing our gracious Queen to become his sponsor.* 

During our stay at Honolulu, the King's brother, Prince 
Lot, acceded to our request to show us a native dance, or 
Hula-hula, such as we had read of in the voyages of the old 
explorers. It was common enough in the days of Cook and 
Vancouver, but has gone out of fashion since quadrilles and 
champagne have been introduced at Honolulu. Probably 
the missionaries have had much to do with its abolition, and 
indeed no objection they may entertain to it can be con- 
sidered unreasonable. 

A Hula is a festive entertainment which I find it some- 
what difficult to describe. The one we saw was held near a 
village some ten or twelve miles from Honolulu, to which we 
all rode on the horses which are so good and plentiful in this 
island. Some 200 or 300 natives were present. Almost all 
the dancers were women dressed in a costume somewhat 
similar to that of our European ballet-girl. The music was « 
played by some half-dozen men seated on their haunches at T 
the far end of the room behind the dancers, who sang a wild 
chant, accompanied by perpetual rapping on small drums*. 
Some of the dancers carried large shields made of feathers 
bound up with very bright-coloured cloth — a gourd, fixed on 
to the centre at the back, forming the handle. The gourds 
were filled with pebbles, and were rattled with extraordinary 
vehemence as the dancers became excited. The contortions 
into which they put themselves are quite beyond my powers 
of description. There was, however, a certain wild grace in all 
their movements, and they kept admirable time with each 
other and to the music. The chants have a peculiar signifi- 

* Since writing the above,' the King's wishes have been acceded to. The 
newly-appointed Bishop of Honolulu has recently left England for his diocese, 
and he carries with him the assent of her Majesty to be sponsor to King 
Kame-hame-ha's heir. 

C 



18 SANDWICH ISLAND HORSES. Ceap. II. 

cance to the islanders, and many of their traditions are, 
I believe, bound up in them. Dinner was provided before 
the dancing commenced, which latter was kept up with 
wonderful spirit all through the night. We were entertained 
exclusively on native dishes, spread on the ground in native 
fashion : knives and forks, &c, with ale and wine, forming 
the only foreign portion of the arrangements. 

Among the dishes was chowdar — a preparation of fish 
stewed with suet-pudding, well known in America — and 
several things cooked in a manner peculiar, I believe, to the 
Pacific Islands, by being wrapped up in palm-leaves and 
baked between two hot stones. This is called " loo-ou." Dog 
used to be a common article of diet in the Sandwich Islands, 
but of late years it has gone out of fashion. But for a very 
natural repugnance, that it might be difficult to master, these 
dogs would be by no means disagreeable ; for, as with frogs 
in France, they are devoted early in life to culinary purposes, 
and are fattened as pigs might be, and not allowed — as pigs 
often are — to eat flesh. 

The Sandwich Islands horses are very good, and wonder- 
fully cheap. Many have been exported to Vancouver Island 
with great success. The women are bold equestrians : the 
use of the side-saddle is entirely unknown to them, and they 
ride en cavalier on the Spanish saddle, which is made by the 
natives everywhere in the Pacific. They ride most pluckily, 
and by no means ungracefully, wearing a roll of bright 
yellow or red cloth, sufficiently long to reach below the feet ; 
this is fastened at the waist, and wrapped loosely round the 
lower limbs, so as to form a sort of loose trowsers. 

Before leaving Honolulu, I may mention the Sailors' 
Borne, to which the residents liberally subscribe, from 
the king downwards. There is accommodation in it for 
nearly eighty men, and in the season when the whalers 
crowd into the harbour they manage to accommodate many 
more. The sailors are charged five dollars a week, and the 







1.AHV OF SANDWICH Islands ON HoKSEBACK. 



Page in. 



Chap. II. STRAITS OF FUCA. 19 

officers — for whom a separate table is kept — eight dollars, for 
their board and lodging. 

23nZ October, 1857. — Sailed from Honolulu this day, and 
on the 9th of November entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 
which divides Vancouver Island from the mainland of the 
American continent. In making the Strait of Fuca, should 
the weather be clear enough for the navigator to see the 
Flattery Kocks, he will at once know his position. These 
rocks, which lie twelve miles south of Cape Flattery and 
extend some three miles off shore, have a considerable 
elevation, and are sufficiently peculiar in their aspect to be 
readily identified. In fair weather the entrance to the 
Strait is plainly visible from them ; and as they are passed, 
the lighthouse upon Tatoosh, off Cape Flattery, opens in 
view. 

All high northern latitudes are peculiarly liable to sudden 
changes of weather, and in entering the Strait of Fuca all 
the knowledge and experience of which the navigator is 
master will often be called into requisition. The currents at 
the entrance of the Strait are not very strong, varying from 
one to four knots ; but their set is uncertain, although when 
once fairly in the Strait the flood-stream will be found to 
run in, and the ebb out. Captain Trivett, of the Hudson 
Bay Company's service, who has made many voyages to 
Victoria, recommends * that the south coast of Vancouver 
Island should be avoided in light winds, as, should it fall 
calm, the ship would be at the mercy of a heavy swell that 
almost always sets in on the shore, and renders it at times 
difficult to get off the coast. My subsequent experience, 
however, would incline me, on the contrary, to hug the 
island-coast, as, although the swell sets on to the island, the 
current appears almost invariably to set to the southward. 
This southerly set nearly caused the loss of H.M.S. * Hecate,' 

* 'Mercantile Journal ' for 18(51, p. 190. 

c2 



20 STRAITS OF FUCA. Chap. II. 

in 1861, when, during a fog, she was drifted on to the rocks 
inside Tatoosh Island, when we thought we were still well 
north of it. Captain Stamp, an old seaman who, living at 
Barclay Sound, is in the habit frequently of taking small 
schooners to and from Victoria, also told me that he almost 
always experienced a southerly set at the entrance of the 
Straits. 

Off the shore of Vancouver Island a large bank, some 
fifteen miles in breadth, extends the whole length of the 
island. It is, therefore, advisable, as Captain Trivett in 
another place remarks, to be to the northward rather than 
the southward in making the Strait. The edge of this bank 
has been very accurately defined by the soundings of H.M.S. 
1 Hecate,' which have since been published ; and as the depth 
of water changes suddenly from 100 or 200 fathoms to no 
more than 40 or 50, the soundings will serve as a capital 
guide for the approach. 

The breadth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, at its entrance 
between Cape Flattery, its southern point upon American 
territory, and Bonilla Point in Vancouver Island, is thirteen 
miles. It narrows soon, however, to eleven miles, carrying 
this breadth in an east and north-east direction some fifty 
miles to the Kace Islands. The coasts are remarkably free 
from danger, and may, as a rule, be approached closely. 
Upon either side there are several convenient anchorages, 
which I shall shortly describe, and which may be taken 
advantage of by vessels inward or outward bound. They are 
well lighted, too, by both the countries interested in their 
navigation ; although, in this respect, the United States may 
be said to carry off the palm. They have a small staff of 
officers whose duty it is to attend to the lighthouses on the 
coast ; and until the recent home exigencies of the United 
States, a steamer, the ' Shubrick,' was especially detailed for 
this service. 

To return, however, to a description of the Strait of Juan 



Chap. II. STEAITS OF FUCA. 21 

de Fuca. Upon the northern side, from the shore of the 
island, densely- wooded hills rise gradually to a considerable 
height ; while on the southern, or American shore, the rugged 
outline of the Olympian range of snow-clad mountains, vary- 
ing in elevation from, four to seven thousand feet, and in 
breaks of which peeps of beautiful country may be seen, 
extend for many miles. As the Strait is ascended the tides 
and currents, which at its junction with the Pacific are of 
comparatively little strength, become embarrassing, and 
often dangerous, to the navigator. In the neighbourhood 
of the Kace Islands, where the Strait takes an east-north-east 
direction and meets the first rush of the waters of the Gulf of 
Georgia, which have been pent-up and harassed by the 
labyrinth of islands choking its southern entrance, the tidal 
irregularities become so great and perplexing as to baffle all 
attempts at framing laws calculated to guide the mariner. 
Fortunately, the course of the winds can be ascertained with 
greater accuracy. At all seasons they blow up or down 
the Strait of Fuca. During the summer the prevailing 
breezes from north-west or south-west take a westerly direc- 
tion within the Strait; while the south-east gales of winter 
blow fairly out. The mariner, however, running out of the 
Strait with a south-east gale, must be prepared for a shift to 
the southward immediately he opens Cape Flattery. This 
generally occurs, and it is of the first importance to be ready 
for it ; as, of course, the southerly wind catching a ship un- 
prepared drives her on to the dead lee-shore of the island, 
off which it is no easy job to work. Upon her last voyage 
home the Hudson Bay Company's bark 'Princess Royal,' 
under the command of the Captain Trivett I have before 
alluded to, was placed in great jeopardy for a whole night 
from this cause. 

At the Race Islands the Strait may be said to terminate, as 
it there opens out into a large expanse of water, which forms 
a playground for the tides and currents, hitherto pent up 



22 ANCHORAGES. Chap. II. 

among- the islands in the comparatively narrow limits of the 
Gulf, of Georgia, to frolic in. Between Port San Juan, which 
is the first anchorage on the north side of the Strait just 
inside the entrance, and the Eace Islands two good anchorages 
occur. Sooke. Inlet, the more westward of these, lies some 
nine miles from the Kace Islands, and forms a splendid basin 
a mile and a half square, and perfectly land-locked. The 
entrance, however, is so narrow and tortuous, as to make 
Sooke Harbour of little practical value. Some farms have, 
however, been established there, and what land there is in its 
neighbourhood available for cultivation has been found to be 
good and fertile. 

Becher Bay lies between Sooke and the Kace Islands, some 
four miles from the latter. The depth of water at its 
entrance varies from twenty to fifty fathoms, with a rocky 
and irregular bottom ; and it cannot be recommended as an 
anchorage, being too open to winds from the south and west. 

On the south side of the Strait is Neah Bay, four miles 
east-north-east from Tatoosh Island, offering a safe and 
convenient anchorage to vessels meeting south-west or 
south-east gales at the entrance of the Strait. Indeed, it is 
very fairly sheltered from all but north-west winds, and if 
threatened by them a vessel will generally be able to run out 
of the bay inside the adjacent island of Wyadda, which is 
protected on the north-east side. It was in Neah Bay, how- 
ever, that the Hudson Bay Company's brig ' Una ' was lost in 
1857. She had come down from Queen Charlotte Island, 
whither she had been sent to examine into some reported gold 
discoveries, and was lying here when a heavy north-west wind 
set in. Most of the crew were on shore at the Indian village, 
and the ' Una ' was anchored in deep water. The anchor 
could not be weighed, and before they could get sail on ready 
for cutting the cable, she had drifted so much that, when they 
tried to run through between the island and the main, they 
grounded on the point. The brig was totally lost, but the 



Chap. II. INDIAN FISHERMEN. 23 

crew were saved and treated kindly by the Indians, who 
muster here in large numbers, owing to the quantity of cod, 
halibut, and other fish, upon the bank which I have before 
referred to as running out from the shore of the island. 
This fishery will no doubt, at some future time, prove 
a source of considerable profit to the colony. It was for 
some time doubted by the Governor and others, whether 
the true cod was to be caught upon this bank ; but some 
years later, when we were here with the ' Hecate,' we settled 
this in the affirmative beyond a doubt. The halibut runs 
here to an enormous size ; it is a large flat fish, and I have 
seen specimens caught that were six or seven feet long, by 
three or four feet wide and six or eight inches thick. Fish of 
this size are very coarse ; but a small halibut is good eating. 
The Indians catch them with the hook, their lines being 
made usually of the fibres of the cypress-tree, or of the long 
kelp which abounds in these waters. They now very gene- 
rally use hooks purchased of the Hudson Bay Company, 
but the native implement made of wood backed with bone 
may still be seen. The canoes of these fishermen may 
always be met with off the entrance of the Strait, tossing 
about in the chopping sea, with a coil of some fifty or 
sixty fathoms of line wound round their bows. Their 
method of killing large fish is particularly ingenious ; they 
carry in their canoes a number of bags of seal-skin made 
air-tight, to each of which is attached a small harpoon 
barbed with iron, fishbone, or shell. A short line connects the 
harpoon with the bag, and the handle being withdrawn after 
the fish is struck he is allowed to play it out. He is often 
strong enough to carry one or more of the seal-skin bags 
under the water, but in time he comes to the surface, and is 
harpooned again and again, until worn out he is towed 
to the shore. 

Between Neah Bay and Admiralty Inlet, there are several 
anchorages more or less to be recommended. The rugged 



24 ESQUJMALT. Chap. II. 

coast is quite unfit, however, for settlement ; although behind 
the rocks that line the shore lies much rich and fertile land, 
which, however, can only be reached from Admiralty Inlet 
and Puget Sound. 

Eight miles north of the Race Islands is the harbour of 
Esquimalt,* and three miles northward of that lies Victoria, 
the capital of Vancouver Island, and the present seat of 
government for both that colony and British Columbia. As 
a harbour, Esquimalt is by far the best in the southern part 
of the island or mainland. It offers a safe anchorage for 
ships of any size, and although the entrance is perhaps some- 
what narrow for a large vessel to beat in or out of with a 
dead foul wind, it may usually be entered easily and freely. 
It is moreover admirably adapted to become a maritime 
stronghold, and might be made almost impregnable. Its 
average depth.is from five to seven fathoms, and in Constance 
Cove, on the right-hand side as the harbour is entered, there 
is room for as large a number of ships as we are ever likely 
to have in these waters to take refuge in if necessary. As 
yet the want of fresh water in the summer time is felt as an 
inconvenience ; but there are several large lakes a little up 
the country, at a level considerably above that of the harbour, 
and from them, when the resources of the colony are de- 
veloped, water can easily be brought down to the ships. 

Each new admiral that is appointed to the North Pacific 
station appears to be more and more impressed with the 
evident value and importance of Esquimalt as a naval 
station. It is to be regretted, indeed, that more land in the 
neighbourhood of the harbour has not been reserved by the 
Government, and that steps were not long ago taken to 
develop its resources. Had, for instance, a floating dock 
been built here in 1858, it would by this time have more 

* The second syllable of Esquimalt is pronounced long. Its Indian name 
is Isch-oy-malt, and it was so written in the early letters of the Governor 
to the Hudson Bay Company. 



Chap. II. ESQUIMALT. 25 

than paid for its construction ; and we should not be depen- 
dent, as we are now, upon the American dock at Mare 
Island, San Francisco, for the repair of our ships of Avar. 
During the four years of my service on this station, such a 
dock would have been used on five occasions by Her Majesty's 
ships, and at least a dozen times by merchant-vessels, who, 
as it was, were put to great inconvenience and even danger. 
For instance, when H.M.S. ' Hecate ' ran ashore in the 
autumn of 1861, we were a fortnight at Esquimalt patching 
her up, before we ventured to take her to San Francisco, 
whither after all we had to be convoyed by another man-of- 
war. This occurred too, as it may be remembered, at a time 
when war with the United States seemed imminent. Had 
it broken out, the ' Hecate ' must have been trapped, and 
the services of a powerful steamer would have been lost to 
the country. 

Esquimalt has seen, and is still likely to see, many start- 
ling changes. I found it altered very much from the time 
when as a midshipman, I first made its acquaintance in 184 ( J. 
Iu that year, when we spent some weeks in Esquimalt 
Harbour on board H.M.S. ' Inconstant,' there was not a house 
to be seen on its shores ; we used to fire shot and shell as we 
liked about the harbour, and might send parties ashore and 
cut as much wood as we needed without the least chance of 
interruption. Now, as we entered, I was surprised to catch 
sight of a row of respectable, well-kept buildings on the south- 
east point of the harbour's mouth, with pleasant gardens in front 
of them, from which a party of the crew of the ' Satellite,' 
who had been expecting- us for some time, received us with 
a round of hearty cheers. This was, we found, a Naval 
Hospital erected in 1854, when we were at war with Eussia, 
to receive the wounded from Petropaulovski, and since that 
time continued in use. Opposite the hospital, our attention 
was directed to a very comfortable and, standing where it 
did, a rather imposing residence, which was the house of 



26 VICTORIA. Chap. II. 

Mr. Cameron, Chief Justice of Vancouver Island, and in 
which I have since spent many a pleasant hour. At the 
head of Constance Cove, at the east end of the harbour, 
might be seen through the trees the buildings of Constance 
farm, in the occupation of the Puget Sound Company ; and 
as we held on beyond the hospital, we came in view of the 
site of the present town of Esquimalt, whose growth is of a 
more recent date than that of which I am now writing. 

Nor were other signs of the already growing importance of 
Esquimalt wanting. It must be remembered that as yet 
gold, although known by some to exist both upon the island 
and mainland, had attracted no notice ; but the colony was 
growing slowly yet surely without its stimulating aid. 
Further up the harbour stood another building, named Thetis 
Cottage, and at the north entrance of Constance Cove the 
new bailiff of the Puget Sound Company was building a 
house. So, everywhere ashore, there were changes and im- 
provement visible. Nine years back, we had to scramble 
from the ship's boat on to the most convenient rock : now 
Jones's landing-place received us ; and in the stead of forcing 
a path over the rocks and through the bush to the Victoria 
Inlet, whence, if a native should happen to be lounging 
about in the Indian village of the Songhies, and should see 
us or hear our shouts and bring a canoe over, we might hope 
to reach Victoria, a broad carriage-road, not of the best, 
perhaps, and a serviceable bridge, were found connecting 
Esquimalt Harbour with Victoria. 

Victoria, too, was altering for the better, though slowly. 
The Hudson Bay Company's fort was still the most imposing 
building in the town, and its officers the chief people there ; 
but it had grown into a more important station of the great 
Fur Company than of yore, and Mr. Finlayson, whom we 
had left chief in command nine years before, we now found 
Mr. Douglas's lieutenant. 

As the capital of the island, Victoria undoubtedly owes its 



Chap. II. VICTORIA. 27 

pre-eminence to Mr. Douglas, the present governor. As far 
back as 1843, when it was considered desirable by the Com 
pany to establish a station in the island, Victoria had been 
selected by him for that purpose ; and later, when the Oregon 
boundary question was settled, and the mouth of the Kiver 
Columbia, on which Fort Vancouver, the principal station of 
the Company in Western America, stood, fell into the hands 
of the United States, it was to Victoria that their head-quarters 
were transferred by Mr. Douglas, who was then, and had been 
for some time, their chief agent in the countries west of the 
Eocky Mountains. Mr. Douglas was guided in his selection 
of Victoria simply by its possessing qualities which met the 
requirements of the Company he represented. No one ever 
dreamt then of the mineral wealth of the valleys that sloped 
from the Eocky Mountains to the sea; or that in a few 
years cities (I should say, perhaps, their promise) would 
spring up upon shores almost unknown to the civilised world. 
But, long before the present rush of immigrants to these 
regions, Victoria, as a port, had been virtually superseded by 
the adjacent harbour of Esquimalt. The entrance to Victoria 
is narrow, shoal, and intricate ; and with certain winds a 
heavy sea sets on the coast, which renders the anchorage 
outside unsafe, while vessels of burden cannot run inside for 
shelter unless at or near high water. Vessels drawing 14 
or 15 feet may, under ordinary circumstances, enter at high 
water, and ships drawing 17 feet have done so, although only 
at the top of spring-tides. But it is necessary always to take 
a pilot, and the channel is so confined and tortuous that a 
long ship has considerable difficulty in getting in. With 
every care, a large proportion of vessels entering the port run 
aground. No doubt steps might be taken to improve the 
harbour of Victoria, but it is highly problematical whether it 
can ever be made a safe and convenient port of entry for 
vessels even of moderate tonnage at all times of the tide and 
weather. Under the most favourable circumstances, accidents 



28 VICTORIA. Chap. II. 

happen constantly. Last year, and again this spring, the 
* Princess Eoyal,' a vessel of but 600 tons' burden, which goes 
from London to Vancouver Island every year, in the service 
of the Hudson Bay Company, grounded in entering Victoria, 
although she was commanded by a very able man, thoroughly 
acquainted with the place, and was towed at the time by a 
steamer which plied in and out of the harbour two or three 
times at least every week. ISTor when she was brought into 
the harbour was there sufficient depth of water to allow her 
to get alongside the wharf, and her cargo had to be discharged 
into lighters. Under these circumstances, therefore, although 
Victoria is, no doubt, quite well adapted for the vessels 
trading up the Fraser River, and the many small craft that 
will be required among the islands and ports of the coast, 
ships of larger tonnage must always prefer Esquimalt. I 
cannot imagine any sensible master of an ocean ship endea- 
vouring to wriggle his vessel into Victoria with the larger 
and safer harbour of Esquimalt handy. 

Very possibly, could the future have been foreseen, Victoria 
would not have been selected as the chief commercial port of 
Vancouver Island. . But the selection has been made, the 
town is built or building, the commerce already attracted. 
The fact must be regarded as accomplished beyond the possi- 
bility of change ; and the only thing that can now be done is 
to connect it with the harbour of Esquimalt, towards which 
task the natural formation of the country lends itself ad- 
mirably. 

In the way of this, however, stand several obstacles, and 
chief among them, perhaps, is the jealousy of the landholders 
of Victoria, who, believing that the elevation of Esquimalt 
into the harbour of the colony would lower the value of their 
property, have- persistently opposed such a project. JSTor 
have the landholders of Esquimalt been altogether free from 
blame. Irritated by the opposition of Victoria, and convinced 
that in the end their demands must be conceded, they have 



•'■% 



$?■-. 



1 
IS 

■i 



i 






7 « 



*■/■', 







Chap. II. VICTORIA. 29 

placed a value upon their land which is quite exorbitant. 
Many of the merchants of Victoria would, I believe, long- 
ago have been glad to transfer their wharves to Esquimalt, 
could they have obtained the necessary land at anything like 
a fair price. 

Some efforts had, however, been made to connect the two 
places. As I have before said, in 1849 the country between 
them was impassable, and the only communication possible 
was by creeping round by the shore and crossing the head 
of the inlet in a canoe ; but now we found a broad road 
carried from Victoria to the Naval Hospital, passing through 
what has since become the site of Esquimalt town, with 
branch ways to several important points of the harbour. 
At that time this road fulfilled its purpose moderately well ; 
but later, when the rush to British Columbia commenced, it 
broke down miserably, and it was, in the autumn of 1861, 
when I left, a disgrace to the colony. In the winter it was 
practically almost useless, and the waggons had to take to the 
grass by the side, with what result may easily be imagined ; 
and when the mails were expected, the express-men and 
waggon-drivers had to go over the ground the day before and 
patch it up sufficiently to enable them to get to Victoria at all. 

Very few words need be given to the description of Victoria. 
Beaching it by the road just mentioned, the traveller, passes 
the Hospital, supported by voluntary contributions, and first 
established by the Rev. E. Cridge, who was the Hudson Bay 
Company's chaplain at Victoria for some years, and did 
much good in many unobtrusive ways before the arrival of 
the present bishop. Beyond, situated upon a point of land 
that juts out between the first and second bridges, has since 
been built a foundry, about which, in the winter season, may 
generally be seen miners busy building flat-bottomed boats, 
raising the gunwales of old canoes, and in other ways making 
preparations for crossing the Gulf of Georgia and ascending 
the Fraser River early in the spring. Further on, across tl^e 



30 INDIAN VILLAGE. Chap. II. 

first bridge, the road ascends a little bill, on the summit of 
which lies the Indian village of tbe Sorighies, once tbe sole 
inhabitants of this place. The close contiguity of these 
Indians to Victoria is seriously inconvenient, and various 
plans for removing them to a distance have been discussed 
both in and out of tbe colonial legislature. In consequence 
of their intercourse with tbe whites — chiefly, of course, for 
evil — this tribe has become the most degraded in tbe whole 
island, having lost what few virtues the savage in his 
natural state possesses, and contracted the worst vices of the 
settlers. It is scarcely possible to walk along tbe road by 
which their village lies without stumbling upon half-a-dozen 
or more, lying dead-drunk upon tbe ground ; and it is no 
uncommon thing at night to bear a ball whizz past your head, 
fired, not at tbe traveller, but from a but on one side of tbe 
road to one on tbe other in some drunken squabble. Alto- 
gether, what with tbe drunkenness and tbe gambling — for 
Indians are great gamblers, and numbers may be seen squatted 
on their haunches by the roadside playing for whatever they 
have earned or stolen — this village of tbe Songhies presents 
one of tbe most squalid pictures of dirt and misery it is 
possible to conceive. To tbe right of these, and stretching 
far along the northern side of the harbour, are tbe tents of 
the tribes who come down several hundred miles from the 
northernmost part of our West American possessions to barter 
furs, buy whisky, and see the white men. 

The Company's fort, long the chief feature of the place, is 
situated on the north-east side of the harbour. Upon my first 
visit to Yictoria in 1849, a small dairy at tbe bead of James 
Bay was tbe only building standing outside the fort pickets, 
which are now demolished. But shortly after, upon Mr. 
Douglas's arrival, he built himself a house on the south side of 
James Bay ; and Mr. Work, another chief factor of the Com- 
pany, arriving a little later, erected another in Rock Bay, 
above the bridge. These formed the nucleus of a little group 



Chap. II. SOCIETY IN VICTOEIA. 31 

of buildings, which rose about and between them so slowly 
that even in 1857 there was but one small wharf on the 
harbour's edge. Still, the least experienced eye could see 
the capabilities of the site of Victoria for a town, and that 
it was capable, should the occasion ever arise, of springing 
into importance as Melbourne or San Francisco had done* 
As it was, the place was very pleasant, and society — 
as it is generally in a young colony — frank and agreeable. 
No ceremony was known in those pleasant times. All the 
half-dozen houses that made up the town were open to us. 
In fine weather, riding-parties of the gentlemen and ladies of 
the place were formed, and we returned generally to a high 
tea, or tea-dinner, at Mr. Douglas's or. Mr. Work's, winding 
up the pleasant evening with dance and song. We thought 
nothing then of starting off to Victoria in sea-boots, carrying 
others in our pockets, just to enjoy a pleasant evening by a 
good log-fire. And we cared as little for the weary tramp 
homeward to Esquimalt in the dark, although it happened 
sometimes that men lost their way, and had to sleep in the 
bush all night. 



32 GULF OF GEOBGIA. Chap. Ill 



CHAPTEE III. 



Semiabmoo Bay — Gulf of Georgia — "Visit Nanaimo — Coal — The Haro 
Archipelago — Discovery of Gold — Consequent Excitement — Growth of 
Victoria — Arrival of H.M.S. 'Havannah' — Threatened disturbance at 
Victoria — Arrival of Colonel Moody — Abatement of the Gold Fever. 

The first duty which devolved upon Captain Eichards on the 
' Plumper' reaching these waters was the determination of 
the exact spot where the parallel of 49° north latitude 
met the sea. This was known approximately, but it was 
necessary now to determine it accurately as a starting-point 
for the Commission which was to carry the line across the 
continent, and also for the purposes of the Naval Commission 
to whirh Captain Eichards belonged, and whose business it 
was to determine . the channel by which it was intended, by 
the Treaty of 1844, that the boundary-line should pass to 
the Strait of Fuca. 

Accordingly, after a short stay in Esquimalt Harbour, 
Captain Eichards decided to accomplish this part of his 
mission at once. The Commissioners of the United States 
had already made their observations, and, having encamped 
upon a spot of the mainland near the computed line of 
parallel, awaited the ' Plumper's ' coming to confirm them. 
So on the 18th of November we steamed up the Haro Strait 
and across the Gulf of Georgia, to Semiahmoo Bay. 

It would be unjust to the scenery of these channels 
to describe it as we then saw it in the depth of winter. 
Although the weather was open, and there was hardly any 
snow upon the ground, both the shores of Vancouver and 
the numerous other islands that we passed wore that dull, 
sombre hue common to northern countries at such a season. 




CA1KN, ETC., (>N THE BOUNDARY link, at i:v , t 



KOOTENAY. 



P;i?e 32. 



*.i.3ioi.eci 



Chap. II r. SEMIAHMOO BAY. 33 

At all times, indeed, the scenery of these islands, with that of 
the shores of the mainland, is little attractive, covered as they 
are with pine-trees to the water's edge, through which knobs of 
trap show in places, but in winter it is peculiarly uninviting. 

Semiahmoo or Boundary Bay, is an extensive sheet of 
water, some eight miles wide, flowing inland towards the. 
Fraser River, from the south bank of which it is only divided 
by a flat and narrow delta three miles across. 

As the parallel of 49° north latitude meets the sea in this 
bay, it will be well to give a slight description of it. It lies 
between Birch Bay, one of Vancouver's anchorages, on the 
east, and Point Roberts on the west, the tip of which latter 
point falls south of 49°. The distance between the east and 
west points is 8 miles, and the length of the bay northerly 
is 7 miles, though at low water it dries off from the head for 
3 miles. 

There is anchorage in 7 to 15 fathoms nearly all over the 
bay, though the western and southern parts of it are exposed 
to southerly winds, which send in a considerable sea. In 
the eastern part there is good anchorage, except with a south- 
west gale. 

The south bluff terminates at its east end in a long, low 
spit, more than a mile long, covered with grass, drift- 
timber, and a few pines. This spit was afterwards, for a 
short time in the summer of 1858, the site of " Semiahmoo 
City," and it forms a small but snug nook called Drayton 
Harbour, which affords shelter from the south-west gales 
when the outer anchorage is not safe. 

Here we stayed until the 16th December, making the 
necessary observations, when, on Captain Richards proceed- 
ing to mark the spot where he considered the parallel met 
the sea, it was found to differ only eight feet from that fixed 
upon by the American Commissioners. Whilst here, of 
course, we were thrown a good deal in the way of the officers 
of the American Boundary Commission. Their party consisted 

D 



34 EXPENSE OF SETTLING THE BOUNDARY. Chap. III. 

of Mr. Campbell, the Commissioner ; Lieutenant Parke, of the 
United States' Topographical Engineers, astronomer; two or 
three assistant astronomers, a doctor, naturalist, botanist, and 
a captain and subaltern in command of the military escort, 
which consisted of about 70 men. They had been here nearly 
a year, and were able to form some idea of the work that lay 
before them. Some of the party were veterans at the work, 
having been engaged upon the Mexican Boundary Commission. 
Their instruments were admirably packed for travelling, and 
of very superior make and workmanship. Until recently, 
the Americans were obliged to come to our English manufac- 
turers for their scientific instruments ; and I think it was 
with some natural gratification on their part that our attention 
was drawn to the fact that these were made by Mr. Worde- 
man, an American, at Washington, who began life as a repairer 
of Troughton's instruments. 

Their estimate of the probable expense of settling this 
boundary question rather surprised us, and showed us at 
once that the cost of a clearing on this side of the continent 
could not be calculated by the expense of a similar under- 
taking east of the Eocky Mountains. Colonel Estcourt, 
whose opinion was asked, and formed upon his experience of 
cutting a line thirty feet wide from Lake Superior to the 
Lake of Woods, had estimated the whole expense of con- 
tinuing it on this side to the sea at 32,000/. ; but Mr. Camp- 
bell, the American Commissioner, told us that he had asked 
for an annual appropriation of 45,000/. for three years. Al- 
though he did not get this, it was much nearer the requisite 
sum than the other, and the issue proved the correctness of 
his judgment. 

Our work over at Semiahmoo, it was decided to return 
to Esquimalt until the weather should be fine enough to 
enable us to commence our surveying work. Before making 
that harbour, however, we visited Nanaimo, a settlement 
75 miles north of Victoria, for the purpose of coaling. 



.■:!,:: 




: 



1 'V. 




Chap. 111. NANAIMO — COAL. 35 

Nanairno is the only spot in the island where the coal is 
worked, although it appears in several other places. The 
harbour is good, and there is no difficulty in making it. 
A small island lies off the entrance, which is admirably 
adapted for a lighthouse when the harbour becomes of more 
importance. The town, such as it is, stands upon a singular 
promontory, which seems to have been severed from the 
mainland by some violent volcanic eruption which twisted the 
strata of which it is composed most curiously. Along the 
shore are the colliery buildings, and about a dozen remarkably 
sooty houses, inhabited by the miners and the few Hudson 
Bay Company's officers here. There is a resident doctor 
in the place, who inhabits one of these houses, and to the 
left of them stands the Company's old bastion, on which are 
mounted the four or five honeycombed 12-pounders, with 
which the great Fur Company have been wont to awe the 
neighbouring Indians into becoming respect and submission. 

The coal obtained at Nanairno, although it burns rapidly, 
and is excessively dirty, answers sufficiently well for steam- 
ing purposes, and is not likely to be soon exhausted. It 
has been found at several other places besides this pro- 
montory of Nanairno. On Newcastle Island which, with 
Protection Island, form the shelter of the harbour, coal has 
been worked to a considerable extent, and found good. It 
has also been discovered cropping out on the Chase lliver, a 
lew miles up the country, and further inland at a spot known 
as Pemberton's Camp. As yet the resources of Nanairno 
and its neighbourhood have not been fairly developed. The 
appliances for delivering the coal, for instance, were so faulty 
that a ship had to lie there often for three or four weeks 
before she could take in a load. There can be no doubt that 
with a more liberal outlay of capital, under judicious and 
enterprising management, Nanairno might drive a very 
flourishing trade at home and with California, where coal 
might be delivered at 12 to 15 dollars a ton, which would 

d 2 



36 MARINE MERRY-MAKING. CnAr. III. 

be almost as desirable as the Welsh eoal, which is seldom 
below 20, and sometimes fetches as much as 30 dollars a ton. 
For domestic consumption, and for use in the factories, 1 
believe the coal of Nanaimo to be almost equal to that 
brought at such an immense expense and labour from the 
Welsh mines. Indeed, when I happened to be at San Fran- 
cisco, I was informed by one of the leading iron-manufac- 
turers there, that they preferred mixing Nanaimo with Welsh 
coal when they were able to obtain it.* 

One decided drawback to Nanaimo as a harbour is the exist- 
ence there of»a species of augur-worm {Teredo navalis). It is 
remarkable that, although this insect infests Nanaimo to such 
an extent that a new pier, built there shortly before our first 
visit, has since given way to its ravages, we never found it 
elsewhere on the coasts of the island or mainland. Of course 
there are many inlets and harbours still so little known that 
no positive opinion on the subject can be entertained, but 
Esquimalt and Victoria, among many others, are certainly 
free from it. 

January 1st, 1858. — A novel feature in marine merry- 
making was introduced by the ' Satellite's ' crew, who invited 
our men to a dinner on board their ship. I do not imagine 
that such an entertainment was ever witnessed before. It 
was capitally managed, and the crews of both ships behaved 
remarkably well. The upper deck of the ' Satellite ' was 
covered in with flags, under which tables were laid down the 
whole length of the port side, at which about sixty of our 
men dined with the ' Satellite's.' Of course we all went to 
look on. The sergeant of the ' Satellite's ' marines took the 
chair, proposing the toasts with introductory speeches that 
none of us need have been ashamed of. 

February 10. — After spending six weeks in Esquimalt 

* Since writing the above, I have been informed that by the company which 
has lately purchased these mines a new wharf has been built and increased 
facilities for shipping coal provided. 




VANCOUVER'S ISLAND SURVEY DETACHED SERVICE — GRUFFTN BAY— ST. JUAN ISLE. 

Page 37. 



Chap. III. THE 'SHARK' IN DANGER. 37 

Harbour, we sailed this day to Port Townsend for the mails, 
Victoria at that time being too insignificant a place for the 
American mail-steamers running between San Francisco and 
the Sound to put in at. Indeed, just then the letters of the 
' Satellite ' and ' Plumper ' formed nearly the whole contents 
of the English mail-bags. Upon our way a party was dropped 
at San Juan Island to commence surveying operations. Here 
we — for I formed one of them — remained until the 27th, when 
we returned to Esquimalt. The weather we experienced 
convinced us that the middle or end of March was quite 
early enough to commence work with any hope of success. 
Out of the seventeen days we spent there six only could be 
called fine, and at the best the cold was so severe and the 
fogs so frequent as to render boat-work extremely dangerous, 
particularly in channels so full of tide-rips and over-falls. 
Upon one occasion, during our stay, the * Shark ' — as the 
' Plumper's ' pinnace after being raised and half-decked had 
been christened — was a subject of great anxiety to us. In 
crossing from San Juan to Esquimalt she missed her port, 
and having drifted during the night past the Eace Bocks — it 
might just as well have been upon them — picked herself up in 
Sooke Inlet, twenty miles below Esquimalt. Upon another 
occasion, the ' Shark ' was caught in a storm of wind and 
snow, of the violence, of which the accompanying sketch may 
enable the reader to form some idea. She is there depicted 
dragging her anchor and drifting on shore, the men on board 
of her signalling to us -for assistance that we were utterly 
unable to give them. I may mention in connection with this 
sketch that the hill on which we were standing watching the 
' Shark's ' danger was that upon which the Americans after- 
wards, upon taking possession of the island, planted their 
battery, and near which, although the battery has disap- 
peared, their camp now stands. 

The few weeks of mid-winter which we had spent in 
Esquimalt had been of necessity somewhat idle. How- 




WEST OUCAS SOUND, FROM SHIP TEAK. 



Tiigc 39. 



Chap. III. HAIIO ARCHIPELAGO, 39 

The Canal de Haro had, it is true, been marked on the maps 
by the Spaniards, but it was only when the Hudson Bay 
Company established their head-quarters at Victoria that 
this passage became used, and even then their vessels gene- 
rally went up the Eosario Strait, which, being more familiar 
with, they preferred. 

Of the rights and wrongs of this question, which is as 
unsettled now as it was then, my official position in the sur- 
vey prevents my entering into a discussion, and obliges me 
to refrain from anything like a detailed account of the " San 
Juan difficulty," which, in the year following that of which 
I am now writing, caused so much excitement both in the 
colony and in England. 

To return to the islands : the distance between the two 
above-named channels is about twenty miles, and their length 
the same, thus making a space of four hundred square 
miles full of islands, varying in size from ten or twelve miles 
long to a mere heap of trap with two or three pines on them. 
The group consists of the three important islands of San 
Juan, Ureas, and Lopez, and about thirty smaller ones. Of 
these Orcas, the most northern, is the largest, and contains 
the finest harbours. It is mountainous, and in most parts 
thickly wooded, although in the valleys there is much land 
available for farming. On the east side of the island Mount 
Constitution rises nearly five thousand feet, and is a very 
conspicuous object from all parts of the Gulf of Georgia. 
Deer abound more in Orcas than in any other of the islands. 
During our stay of about a fortnight in East Orcas Sound, 
upwards of thirty were shot. 

San Juan, the best known by name, and in size the second 
of these islands, is eleven miles long, by an average of three 
miles wide. There is more land available for agriculture here 
than on any other of the group ; and of this the Hudson Bay 
Company took advantage some years ago, and established 
a sheep-farm upon it. This farm has ever since its establish- 



•AO MYSTERIOUS MURDER. Chap. III. 

liient been in charge of Mr. Griffin, a gentleman whose 
kindness and hospitality render him every one's friend. It 
is situated on a beautiful prairie at the south-east end of the 
island, winch, rising 140 feet above the water, looks most 
attractive to the emigrant passing onward towards the Fraser. 
I have never seen wild flowers elsewhere grow with the 
beauty and luxuriance they possess here. Perhaps I cannot 
illustrate the attractions of San Juan better, than by saying 
that it was the spot selected by his Excellency the Governor's 
daughter aod niece in which to spend then honeymoon. 

At one time I believe the Company had as many as 3000 
sheep on the island, distributed at various stations, all under 
Mr. Griffin's charge. His house, which is very pleasantly 
situated, looks out on the Strait of Fuca, and commands a 
magnificent view up Admiralty Inlet. Directly in front of it 
lies a bank, which is a very favourite fishing-station of the 
Indians, where they catch a large number of salmon and 
halibut. This spot was, in 1859, the scene of a double 
murder, which excited no little speculation that will never 
be satisfied in this world. 

Mr. Griffin told the story thus. He was sitting in his bal- 
cony one summer afternoon, watching a vessel working her 
way up the Strait, when he saw two boats, each containing 
one man, pull past in the direction of Victoria. He was 
rather surprised at seeing them thus single-handed, but at that 
time, when the gold-fever was ragicg fiercely, every sort of 
boat was employed to cross the Strait, and he concluded 
that they were two Americans, making their way from Bell- 
ingham Bay to Victoria. They had hardly rounded the point, 
just beyond the farm, and passed out of his sight, when a 
small canoe with a single Indian shot past in the same 
direction. There was nothing in all this to attract particular 
notice, and Mr. Griffin was surprised when, an Lour or so 
later, two boats, which Jie at once recognised as those that 
had so lately passed, drifted into view, floating back, to 



Chap. IIL SAN JUAN. 41 

all appearance, empty. A canoe was at once sent out to them, 
when one was found empty, and in the other lay the body of 
a white man, shot, but not pillaged, — even the provisions that 
were in his boat being untouched. Who shall say who his 
murderer was ? Had his white companion shot him, landed, 
and pushed off his boat ? — for, except in the boat in which the 
murdered man lay, not a drop of blood could be seen. Or 
had the Indian killed him, and had his companion, on seeing 
the fatal shot fired, leapt overboard, and been drowned ? If 
so, it was in revenge, for nothjng was taken from the boats ; 
perhaps in performance of that duty which is still considered 
" sacred " — if one may use the word — among the Indians — of 
taking a life for a life. 

Lopez Island is lower and more swampy than the others. 
It forms the south-east end of the group, and is nine miles 
long by three wide. The other islets are, as I have said, 
mere masses of rock covered with pines, and too insignificant 
to claim especial notice. 

Thus of the whole group San Juan is the only island worth 
anything for purposes of colonisation, while it only contains a 
few thousand acres of good land. To allege, therefore, that 
an island of such paltry extent is of any real value in this 
respect, either to a country possessing the adjacent island of 
Vancouver and territory of British Columbia, — or still more 
to one possessing the hundreds of miles of fertile prairie con- 
tained in Washington Territory, Oregon, and California, — is 
manifestly absurd. A study of the chart — which we were then 
preparing — however, will show quite clearly why the country 
that holds Vancouver Island and British Columbia must also 
hold San Juan Island, or give up the right of way to her own 
possessions. It will be seen at once that the party that holds 
this island commands the Canal de Haro. The narrowest part 
of the channel from shore to shore is five miles. This distance 
from San Juan can certainly be kept by steamers, but they 
must be thoroughly acquainted with the navigation to do so, 



42 SAX JUAN. Chap. Ill 

as they inust pass inside several reefs, and west of Sydney 
Island. To go up the centre of the channel — as big ships 
should do — San Juan must be passed at two miles' distance ; 
as must Henry and Stuart Islands also, both of which wo aid 
belong to the nation holding the east side of the Canal de 
Haro. 

San Juan can be of no use to any country but Great Britain, 
except for offensive purposes; and, on the other hand, it 
cannot be of any use to her but for defensive purposes, as its 
eastern shore in no way controls or affects the Eosario Strait, 
from the western side of which it is eight miles distant at the 
nearest point, with Lopez Island between. 

The same argument might be used against our holding 
possession of the islands which form the western side of the 
Rosario Strait, but here Nature befriends us ; for during our 
survey we found there was a middle channel passing eastward 
of San Juan and a small island north of it, called ;c Waldron 
Island," which channel, though not so. wide as either of the 
others, is quite safe for steam navigation. A boundary-line, 
therefore, passing down the middle channel would give to the 
nations on either side a road to their dominions perfectly 
free of interruption, and well out of shot of each other, for 
some years to come at least ; and this certainly appears the 
simplest and best solution of the difficulty. 

I will not weary the reader by describing all the lesser 
channels, inlets, and harbours which were discovered and 
surveyed, and of which the accompanying map is too small 
to give an adequate idea. Any one who feels an interest in 
such matters should obtain the large charts now published, 
which show the extraordinary shape of the outline of this 
coast and its islands: deep channels and inlets, with more 
shallow bays and harbours running in every possible direction, 
sometimes between huge crags, and elsewhere through or into 
low level land ; the whole forming islands, promontories, and 
peninsulas of most grotesque shape, and bearing more plainly 



Chap. III. THE GOLD-FEVER. 43 

than I have seen in any other country the evidence of vol- 
canic action. Two features, and two only, are constant every- 
where — the everlasting pine-trees and the igneous rocks. 

We remained among these islands till the 1 6th of May, 
when we returned to Esquimalt, to find that during our 
absence that most infectious of all maladies — a gold-fever — 
had broken out, and had seized every man, woman, and child 
there and in Victoria. The existence of gold on the main- 
land of British Columbia, had been proved incontestably ; 
and everyone whom a few weeks ago we had left engaged 
steadily in pursuits from which they were reaping a slow 
sure profit, seemed to have gone gold-mad. 

The story of the discovery of the precious metal in British 
Columbia should have taken no one by surprise ; the only 
wonder was that years before, its existence in quantities large 
enough to attract gold-seekers had not been discovered. Its 
existence had been known, indeed, to a few people for many 
years, but it was only quite recently that attention had been 
called to the subject, and that Mr. Douglas, who had a very 
accurate prescience of what was likely to happen, had drawn 
the attention of the Home Government to this fact. Common 
report says, however, that the Hudson Bay Company had 
been in the habit of getting it from the Indians for years ; 
and if this be so, Mr. Douglas's prescience was not very 
remarkable. 

Mr. Anderson, a chief factor in the service of the Hudson 
1 Jay Company, and a well-known explorer, had some time since 
been despatched to the mainland, with instructions to examine 
into its resources generally. His expedition proved of value, re- 
sulting as it did in the discovery of the Harrison-Lilloett route, 
by which, as I shall have occasion to show, the worst obstacles 
of the ascent of the Fraser Biver have been overcome ; but he 
threw little, if any, light upon the main object of his search. 
The Company's brig ' Una ' had also been despatched to Queen 



44 EAP1D RISE OF VICTORIA. Chap. Ill, 

Charlotte Island, and succeeded in blasting gold in quartz, 
at a place called Gold Harbour. But owing in part to the 
fierceness of the natives, " and still more, perhaps, to the 
mechanical difficulties attending the working of the blasts, 
the Company shortly gave up this as an unprofitable specu- 
lation. 

Now, however, time had brought to notice what the little 
search made had failed to find, and the excitement of Vic- 
toria was indescribable. To any one who had known San 
Francisco or- Melbourne under similar circumstances, the 
condition of Victoria was not surprising ; but to those hitherto 
unacquainted wdth the earliest febrile symptoms attending 
the discovery of gold, the change in its aspect and prospects 
might well seem magical. The value of land was raised 
immensely, and the impulse given to its sale was, of course, 
very great, although the fluctuations in its price, as contra- 
dictory reports came down from the mines, made dealing with 
it a somewhat hazardous speculation. All the available 
Government lands had been snapped up by far-seeing specu- 
lators when the first drops of the golden shower descended. 
Lots in Victoria and Esquimalt, that a few months ago had 
gone begging at their upset price of II. an acre, sold now for 
100?. an acre, and soon for more. Merchants' stores were 
rising in every diregtion. On the shore of the harbour, 
wharves were being planted; and, as if there were some- 
thing magnetic in the demand that at once attracted a 
supply, sailing-ships, laden with every description of articles 
which a migratory population could, and in many cases 
could not, want, flowed into the harbour. Victoria appeared 
to have leapt at once, from the site of a promising settle- 
ment into a full-grown town. Its future had not, pre- 
vious to this, looked by any means bright; and we had 
been in the habit of regarding the map of the town of 
Victoria, kept in the land-office, as an amusing effort of 







i 















I 









Chap. m. INFLUX OF STRANGERS. 45 

the surveyor's imagination. But now the promise seemed 
likely of fulfilment. Here was actually a street, and there 
were not wanting indications the most palpable that in a 
short time there would be two, even three erected. Several 
of the old settlers had already made enough by the sudden 
rise in the value of their lands to be tl unking how they 
might spend the rest of their lives easily, even luxuriously. 
Expectation was written in every face, which before had 
been placid, even stolid; for with occasional visits from 
Her Majesty's ships of war, the great event of Victoria had 
been the advent of the 'Princess Royal' once a year, with 
the latest fashions of the Old World and fresh supplies, 
human and material, for the Honourable Company's service. 
Now, with vessels arriving and leaving constantly, with 
thousands pouring into the port, and " sensation " news 
from the Fraser daily, a new mind seemed to have taken 
possession of Victoria; and whether the 'Princess Royal' 
arrived or foundered on her way, was one and the same thing 
to the excited people, who had hitherto looked upon her 
coming as the one event of the otherwise uneventful year. 

That road. too. from ESsquimalt to Victoria, about which 
so much has since been said in and out of the Colonial 
Assembly, was changed, with the rest, almost beyond recog- 
nition. Only a lew months before, we used to flounder 
through the mud without meeting a single soul ; now it was 
covered with pedestrians toiling along, with the step and air of 
men whose minds are occupied with thoughts of business ; 
crowded with well-laden carts and vans, with Wells Fargo's, 
or Freeman's " Expresses," and with strangers of every tongue 
and country, in every variety of attire. Day after day on they 
came to Victoria, on their way to the Fraser ; the greater part 
of them with no property but the bundle they carried, and with 
"dollars, dollars, dollars!" stamped on every face. Miners, 
indeed are always ready for change. However good the pro- 
spects of to-day may be, the idea of better will tempt them to 



46 GEEAT EXCITEMENT. Chap. III. 

exchange them without a moment's hesitation. The merest 
whisper of a new find is enough to unsettle a whole 
neighbourhood, and send hundreds into the wilds " pro- 
specting." It frequently occurs at San Francisco that 
individuals who happen to possess land speculate for a 
rise by setting afloat some cleverly-planned rumour that a 
great find has been made in their locality. The greedy 
miners and speculators, whose experience has taught 
them to discredit no account however wild, hasten to buy 
the land in question at fabulous prices. I remember when 
I happened to be in San Francisco in 1860 that a place in 
the Washoe country was reported to have been found full 
of silver, — a rumour which was confirmed by some very 
rich specimens of that metal which were exhibited as 
having been found there. Upon the strength of this, Washoe 
land was being bought by feet, and even inches, and nothing 
else was talked about at the dinner-tables or in the streets of 
San Francisco from morning until night. 

The excitement in Victoria reached its climax, I think, in 
July. On the 27th of the previous month, the 'Bepublic' 
steamed into Esquimalt harbour from San Francisco with 
800 passengers; on the 1st of July, the 'Sierra Nevada' 
landed 1900 more; on the 8th of the same month, the 
' Orizaba ' and the ' Cortez ' together brought 2800 ; and 
they all reported that thousands waited to follow. The 
sufferings of the passengers upon this voyage, short as it is, 
must have been great, for the steamers carried at least 
double their complement of passengers. Of course Victoria 
could not shelter this incursion of immigrants, although 
great efforts were made, and soon a large town of tents 
sprung up along the harbour side. "Wherever time and 
material were handy for building, a wooden house was 
erected, and in this respect Victoria had greatly the advan- 
tage of San Francisco under similar circumstances, from the 
ease and comparative cheapness with which building timber 



Chap. III. MOVEABLE BUILDINGS. 47 

and planks could be obtained from the American saw-mills 
in Puget Sound. Of course these buildings were run up 
without much regard to the previous architectural arrange- 
ment of the town. But this was of little consequence. 
Wooden houses in a new settlement in America are always 
built with an eye to their removal, if necessary, the side 
supports being morticed into the flooring; so that, should 
the surveyor run a new, or determine to carry out the 
design of an old, street through them, their owners make 
no demur, but mounting them on wheels transport them 
to their proper position. It is by no means unusual 
to see a family residence moved from one street to 
another, a distance, perhaps, of a quarter of a mile, in this 
way. It happens not unirequeiitly that a lot which was 
bought by the settler upon his arrival, and upon which he 
has Built himself a house, becomes in COOTSe of time the 

Bond or Regent Street of the place. Some speculator then 
offers him a handsome juice, not for his little house, which 
would be useless to him, but for its site, on which he intends 
building some handsome store. The bargain struck, the 
house IS forthwith mounted upon rollers, and wheel* d into 
some back street, whence perhaps in time it may be called 
upon to move again; and this plan was carried out in 
Victoria. 

In the mean time the gold-seekers had, as they arrived in 
Victoria, provided themselves with such necessaries as they 
required for their adventure; and, by every means of con- 
veyance at their disposal — by steamer, sailing-vessel, canoe, 
and boat — were making their way across the Strait of 
Georgia to the mouth of the Fraser River. For this passage 
steamers had already been brought up from the Sacramento 
River at great expense and trouble. Too frail to bear an 
ocean passage, it was necessary to construct an enormous 
skew or lighter for each steamer. The lighter was decked 
over and fitted with pumps, like a caisson. It was then sunk 



48 AMERICAN 'CUTENESS. Chap. III. 

under the steamer in shoal water, built up at the bow and 
stern, so as to completely cover her hull, and pumped 
out, a mast being stepped through the deck and bottom of 
the steamer on to the lighter's kelson. The whole was then 
taken in tow by an ocean steamship, some sort of sail being- 
fitted to the mast above-mentioned, so that, if she should 
break adrift from the consort, or it should be found necessary 
from stress of weather to cast her off, the two or three men 
who made the voyage in her should not be left altogether at 
the mercy of the waves. 

A good story, illustrative of that American " cuteness" about 
which so much has been heard, was told me by one of them- 
selves, relative to a steamer that had been bought to ply 
upon the Fraser. She had been purchased of an American 
company, which had secured the monopoly of the Sacramento 
Eiver steam-navigation, by the process of buying up all the 
vessels started to oppose them. These they sold occasionally 
for use on other rivers, with the one stipulation that they 
should never be brought back to the Sacramento. The 
Fraser Kiver season being over, the stipulation stood very 
„ much in the way of the Yankee owners of one of these boats, 
who were prevented from making the only profitable use of 
it that was then open to them. A way, however, to keep 
the letter, if not the spirit, of the bond they had entered into, 
was found. They exchanged their steamer for another that 
was then plying on the Fraser, and, putting her on the 
lighter that had brought the other up, took her to San 
Francisco, where the monopolising company had to buy her 
off at the owners' own price. 

The most glowing accounts of the successes of the miners 
reached Victoria, and, stripped of the exaggeration natural 
to the subject, enough remained to prove that the mineral 
resources of the country had not been over-estimated by 
those who were most likely to be acquainted with them. 
The miners had, during the first few months after their 



Chap. III. PERILS OF EARLY IMMIGRANTS. 49 

arrival at the mouth of the Fraser, pushed far up it, finding 
gold still more and more abundant. I shall have in due 
time, and of my own experience, to speak of this route 
through a wild and rocky country to the valleys indenting 
the minor ranges that rib the country west of the Rocky 
Mountains, although, travelling with the aid of men and 
means that the miners first in the field could not command, 
my difficulties were not to be compared to the dangers of life 
and limb that beset them. The voyage alone across the gulf 
from Victoria to the mouth of the Eraser was fraught with 
peri] to many who, too impatient or too poor to wait until 
they could take passage in the ordinary steamer or sailing- 
vessel, fitted ap a crazy boat or old canoe, and committed 
themselves to the mercy of one of the swiftest and most 
capricious channels in the world. Several, no doubt, of whom 
no record was taken or left lost their lives in this adventure; 
more, perhaps, in the perils of the Fraser, or from exposure, 
want, and hard living at the mines. But these were few in 
comparison to the hundreds lost in trying to cross the con- 
tinent to California in L849, whose bones are now bleaching 
in the Sierra Nevada. 

Those who were then disposed to blame Governor Douglas 
for many of the calamities that occurred, could scarcely have 
reflected upon, or made due allowance for, the difficulties of 
his position. Roads to the interior there were none, if I 
except that most dangerous path from Fort Hope across 
Manson Mountain, in which the Hudson Bay Company's 
brigade, experienced as they were, yearly lost a num- 
ber of horses. The " freshets " had commenced ; as the 
snow melted, the river rose so that its navigation above Yale 
was impossible, as several found to the cost of their lives. 
Added to this, the only vessels upon the river were two 
belonging to the Company, the ' Otter ' and ' Beaver,' whose 
draught of water prevented their going above Langley, 
whence the journey to Yale had to be made in boats and 

E 



50 THE HARRISON-LILLOETT TEAIL. Chap. III. 

rafts extemporised on the spot, or in canoes navigated by- 
Indians. Half despising, and more than half fearing these 
Indian auxiliaries, as the miners do, they frequently treated 
them with a degree of cowardly cruelty that in many cases cost 
them dear. The only way to travel safely with Indians is to 
trust them, or affect to do so, implicitly, and, above all, to 
show no fear. I have frequently travelled alone with them, 
and slept alone among them, and had the greatest care taken 
of my life and property, whereas when travelling in a party 
nothing is safe from their thievish hands. 

It must be remembered also that as yet the colony had no 
revenue to work with. Except the small amount realised by 
the sale of lands, the sole source of revenue then existing 
was the licence of five dollars from every miner ascending 
the Fraser. However, despite these difficulties, the Governor 
determined to make an effort to open up a route to the 
upper country, by which the miners might journey with 
comparative safety, and supplies be conveyed to them ; and a 
body of about 600 men was organised to cut a way from lake 
to lake along the route explored and recommended by Mr. 
Anderson, and since known as the Harrison-Lilloett trail. 
The difficulties of this work can scarcely be estimated by any- 
one who has not seen British Columbian bush. Some idea 
may be formed of it, if I state that I have travelled for days 
in this country where we scarcely advanced at the rate of one 
mile an hour. 

By;the middle of the summer, however, the Fraser had 
been taken possession of unmistakeably. The banks between 
Forts Hope and Yale were being worked productively, and 
some of the miners had forced their way as far up as Lilloett, 
or Cayoush as it was first called, about 220 miles from the 
mouth of the river. A few had settled at the forks of the 
Thompson and Fraser Kivers, 160 miles from the mouth of 
the latter, and their group of huts had been dignified with 
the name of the then Colonial Secretary — " Lytton." 



Chap. III. ARRIVAL OF THE 'HAYANNAH.' 51 

When the rush to the river began, it was resolved, as I 
have said, that a gold licence of five dollars should be charged 
to every man ascending the river. Of course considerable 
difficulty was found in enforcing this tax, and numbers evaded 
it. Even now, I believe, the cost of its collection is so great 
in the out-of-the-way places, that the Colonial Exchequer is 
little, if at all, benefited by its imposition. Captain Provost 
irafl at this time requested by the Governor to undertake the 
enforcement of this tax, by placing the ' Satellite ' at the 
river's mouth, and stopping all miners who refused payment. 
This was done, and she remained there until the middle of 
the summer, when a small schooner named the ■ Recovery/ 
formerly belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, was bought, 
armed, and stationed in the Eraser River for this purpose. 

\2th July. — H.M.S. Mfavannair arrived this day at 

Esquimalt, bringing from Panama a commission under 

Major (now Colonel) Hawkins, U.K.. who had been appointed 

to determine and mark the ll'tli parallel iii conjunction with 
the United States Commission, of which I have before spoken, 
from the coast at Semiahmoo Wax to the Rooky Mountains. 

It was then thought probable also that this commission would 
cross the Rocky Mountains and carry on their observations to 

the west side of the Lake of the Woods, to the east of which 
it had already been completed by the late General Estcourt. 
This was not carried out, however, and the party have now 
returned from the westward, having gone as far as the summit 
of the Rocky Mountains. 

This party was composed much as the American Com- 
mission with which it had to work in concert was, and con- 
sisted of Captain Haig, R./Y., astronomer, and two officers of 
Engineers, Lieutenants Dahrer and Wilson, with a naturalist, 
geologist, and botanist ; the latter office being undertaken, 
as I have before said, by Dr. Lyall of the ' Plumper.' 

Upon his arrival, Major Hawkins was naturally anxious to 
commence work, and accordingly the ; Plumper ' took him to 

e2 



52 EXPECTED DISTURBANCE. Chap. III. 

Seiniahmoo Bay for a few days, that he might see the nature 
of the task that lay before him and meet the American 
Commission. We found that the spirit of emulation had 
seized upon Semiahmoo and Point Koberts. Since our last 
visit the greater part of the spits and all the level land 
at the extreme of Point Boberts had been "Pre-empted," 
half-a-dozen wooden huts had been built on each, and called 
respectively Semiahmoo and Boberts " City." My English 
readers who know only the " cities " of the Old World should 
be informed that, in such a rapidly progressing country as 
America, any spot whereon a liquor-store and a post-office, 
with two or three huts about them, are built, is imme- 
diately named a " city." All over the country these " Bogus " 
cities, as the more staid Americans call them, are to be found. 
Many, of course, to use their own phrase, " cave in," and tins 
was the fate of Boberts and Semiahmoo Cities, for in less than 
six months they were deserted. 

A few days after our return from Semiahmoo, on the 29th 
July, the quiet tenor of our life in Esquimalt Harbour was 
disturbed by a messenger from the Governor, with a requisition 
that an armed force should be at once despatched to Victoria 
to quell an imminent disturbance in that city of wood and 
canvas. Steam was with all haste got up, and embarking 
the engineers of the Boundary party, we started for Victoria. 
Things had for some time been critical there, and it had been 
thought more than once that it would be necessary for the 
Governor to make an exhibition of force at least, that should 
effectually tame the more unruly of the strange, heterogeneous 
population that had placed themselves under his rule. The 
new-found mineral wealth of British Columbia had attracted 
from California some of the most reckless rascals that gold 
has ever given birth to. Strolling about the canvas streets 
of Victoria might be seen men whose names were in the 
black book of the Vigilance Committee of San Francisco, and 
whose necks would not, if they ventured them in that city. 



Chap. III. EXPECTED DISTURBANCE. 53 

bave been worth an hour's purchase. Aware of this, and 
that the police force had only just been established, and 
consisted of some dozen untrained men, while it was well 
known that no naval or military auxiliaries were nearer 
at hand than Esquimalt, it may easily be conceived that 
we were not much surprised to receive the (Governor's 
lire, and while we steamed round to Victoria thought 
it advisable to prepare ourselves lor what might pos- 
siUv be a grave encounter with the lawless spirits of 
California. Many a subsequent laugh have the recollections 
of that night's work excited. Upon the quarter-deck, small- 
arm companies were having ammunition served out to them ; 
forward, the ship's blacksmith was casting bullets by the 

-eon-; while OUT doctor was spreading out his cold, shining 

instruments upon the ward-room table, and making arrange- 
ments for the most painful surgical operations with that grave, 
business Bang-froid, which i> no doubt caused by a benevo- 
lent desire to show the fighting men what is in the opposite 
scale to honour and glory. 

Directly the ship anchored outside the harbour, we were 
landed and marched into the Fori square, where we were 
left under arms, while Captain Richards waited upon the 
Governor. Whatever disturbance there had been had now 
evidently ceased, and his Excellency was found going or gone 
to bed. However, upon being informed of our arrival, he 
turned out, thanked and dismissed the troops, and our 
evening, begun so fiercely, wound up with a supper in the 
fort. The fact proved to be that the police, in endeavouring 
to arrest a drunken rioter, had been prevented by some of his 
companions, by whose aid he had been got on board a 
schooner lying in the harbour. Under the escort of one of 
our boats, the police now felt themselves strong enough to 
effect his capture ; and the schooner in question being boarded, 
a harmless, sleepy, drunken miner was dragged out of the 
hold and lugged ashore, where on the morrow, no doubt, 



54 GOVERNOR DOUGLAS. Chap. III. 

he was soundly rated and fined. And so ended the first 
and only difficulty which has ever threatened the peace 
of Victoria from its white population. 

Few men could perhaps have been selected better adapted 
for dealing with the strange, heterogeneous population of 
Victoria than Mr. Douglas. Many stories are rife in Victo- 
ria of his coolness and readiness, when without these valuable 
qualities dangerous consequences might have ensued. I 
remember one, which, however, loses much of its point to 
those who are not familiar with the man, and his slow, de- 
liberate action and utterance. Many years ago, when white 
men were fewer in these regions, and Indians less cowed than 
they have now become, Mr. Douglas was in command of one 
of the Company's trading stations. His subordinate officer 
was alarmed upon one occasion by the Indians, who had for 
some time past showed symptoms of insubordination, becoming 
more violent than usual, and forcing their way in large, unruly 
numbers into the Fort square. Rushing to Mr. Douo-las in 
an excited tone and manner, he reported that the Indians 
were in possession of the Fort, and desired to know whether 
he should turn the men out and man the bastion, &c. He was 
not a little surprised to hear his senior say in his measured, 
deliberate fashion of utterance, " Give them a little bread 

and treacle, Mr. ; give them a little bread and treacle." 

And indeed the specific completely soothed the excited 
multitude, which probably no force they could command 
would have done. Another annecdote of the same kind 
occurred while we were out there. A blustering Yankee 
went to the Governor apparently with the notion of bullying 
him, and began by asking permission for a number of citizens 
of the United States to settle on some particular spots of 
land. They would be required, he was informed, to take the 
oaths of allegiance. 

" Well," said he, " but suppose we came there and squatted ?" 

" You would be turned off." 






Chap. III. GOLD-FEVER ABATES. 55 

" But- if several hundred came prepared to resist, what 
would you do ?" 

" We should cut them to mince-meat, Mr. ; we 

should cut them to mince-meat." 

From this time until the 8th October, we were engaged at 
intervals among the islands of the Haro Archipelago surveying. 
On that day ended our outdoor work for 1858. 

21th November. — Work over for tin- year, we proceeded to 
Nanaimo, where the 'Plumper' was beached in Commercial 
Creek, for the purpose of repairing the mischief she had done 
herself by running ashore. And a very moist, unpleasant 
business it was. 

The low water was at night between the hours of D p.m. 
and 1 A.M. ; it froze all the while, and the mud on which 
the ship lay was so soft that half the working time was taken 
up in keeping the trench, which had to ho dug under her, 
open, so that the injured false keel and forefoot could be got 
at. At last, however, the carpenters got their work done, 
and on the 9th December we returned to Esquimalt for the 
winter. 

On Christmas-day the packet arrived, bringing Colonel 
Moody, B.E., the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works; 
Mrs. Moody ; Captain Cosset, ELE., Treasurer of British 
Columbia, and his wife ; and the liev. B. Crickener, now 
chaplain at Yale. The arrival of any officials from Eng- 
land was welcomed as a sort of connecting link with home, 
and a practical acknowledgment of the colony's existence. 

By this time the gold-fever had subsided, and something 
very like a reaction had set in. Many declared that British 
Columbia w r as a bubble that would soon burst, if, indeed, 
it had not burst already. Victoria now was full of miners, 
who had come down the Fraser, and were as eager to 
get back to San Francisco as they had been to leave it in 
the spring. And although they all spoke well of the bars, 
brought much gold with them, and talked confidently of 



56 DIFFICULTY OF TRANSPORT. Chap. III. 

returning directly the winter was over, Victoria was uneasy 
at their departure, and would not believe in their return. 
The exodus, indeed, was startling, but not without a cause. 
To winter at the mines was scarcely suited to the tastes of men 
the majority of whom, accustomed to the climate of California, 
where snow is never seen, were ill adapted to endure the 
severity of a British Columbian winter. Such of the miners, 
principally Canadians and Englishmen, who passed the 
winter season up the river, suffered severely. The weather, 
which, with the ordinary comforts of civilization, might be 
easily borne, told heavily upon men poorly clad and housed, 
and obliged, from the exorbitant price of provisions, to live 
hardly. Indeed, more than once no little fear was felt lest, 
from the difficulty of getting supplies up the country to them, 
the inland population might be starved outright. At that 
time, and subsequently, a great number of the Indians who, 
in the hunt for gold had neglected to store fish and roots, and 
otherwise to prepare for the winter's coming, did die of sheer 
starvation. 

The task of transporting provisions to the bars high up 
the river was, indeed, great. The Harrison-Lilloett trail 
had, it is true, been cut, but as yet it was impassable for 
mule-trains, so that the only way of transporting things from 
lake to lake was by Indian packing. The snow, too, had 
blocked up many of the trails, the navigation of the Fraser 
itself was impeded by ice, so that it cannot be wondered at 
that such of the miners as had the hardihood to pass the 
winter near their claims were paying as much as 6s. a lb. for 
flour, and 3s. for bacon. 

The old miners of California and Australia, men whose 
lives had made them impatient of hardship, except in the 
immediate pursuit of their darling object, and whose rapid 
gains provoked and permitted the utmost licence and extrava- 
gance, were little likely to remain up-country, with the 
comforts and vices of Victoria and San Francisco within their 



i 



Chap. III. APPKOACH OF WINTER. 57 

reach. But the people of Victoria did not then understand 
this ; and when they saw their friends and customers of the 
summer depart southward, and heard accounts of the gold- 
bars being comparatively deserted, it required more faith 
than they possessed to enable them to believe that the tide 
of immigration would ever reflow, and that it was better for 
the country that these dubious Californians should leave and 
be replaced by a more steady and plodding population. 



58 RUMOUR OF DISTURBANCE AT YALE. Chap. IV. 



CHAPTEE IV. 



Rumour of disturbance at Yale — 'Plumper' proceeds to Langley — Canoe 
journey to Fort Hope — Fort Yale and Hill's Bar — Termination of the 
difficulty with the Miners — Miners generally — Expresses and Express 
Men — New Westminster — Return to Victoria — Difficulties arising from 
the immigration of Indians from the North. 

January 10th, 1859. — The rumour of another outbreak, not 
at Victoria, but at Yale, up the Fraser River, arrived to 
disturb, not altogether unpleasantly, the monotony of our 
winter life in Esquimalt Harbour. Intelligence had been sent 
down the river to Victoria that some miners had made a dis- 
turbance at Yale, and that Colonel Moody had, immediately 
upon being informed of it, started from Langley for the 
scene of action with the Engineers stationed there, which, 
numbering 25 men, had just arrived in the colony. The 
Governor considered it desirable at once to strengthen his 
hands. Fort Yale, ninety miles up the Fraser, was one of 
the stations to which some of those miners who were anxious 
to remain near their claims on the upper bars, so as to com- 
mence work directly the season opened, — or to whom, for 
sundry delicate private reasons, the delights of San Francisco 
were not obtainable, — flocked to pass the winter. The climate 
at Yale was milder than that of the Upper Fraser, which in- 
duced a great number of the men having claims north of it to 
come down and pass some months there, while others working 
on the bars near Yale were wont to spend their Sundays and 
holidays in the town. Among them, pre-eminent for certain 
social qualities which had rendered him generally obnoxious 
to the laws of whatever country he had favoured with his 
presence, was a certain Edward M'Gowan. This individual 
had spent some time in California, where he had become 



Chap. IV. A WORTHY FROM SAN FRANCISCO. 59 

very notorious, and had been honoured with the especial 
enmity of the " Vigilance Committee " of San Francisco. Nor 
without good cause. He had, I believe, had the misfortune 
to kill several of his comrades in those little personal en- 
counters which one sees reported so frequently in the 
American newspapers under the head of " shooting " or 
"cutting affairs." The act for which the Vigilance Com- 
mittee of San Francisco doomed him to the gallows was 
killing a man in cold blood in the streets of that city who 
knew too much of his antecedents. M'Gowan of course denied 
this, and always asserted that he had shot his foe in self- 
defence: but there is little doubt that the view which the 
Vigilance Committee took of the matter was the correct one. 
As an instance of the working of universal suffrage, it may 
be mentioned that this man at one time filled the office of a 
judge in California; and quite recently, when, after .-hooting 
at a man at Hill's Bar, whom, luckily, lie missed, he escaped 
across the frontier into American territory, lie has been 
elected to the House of Representatives of one of the border 
States that lie easl of the Rocky Mountains, '['his worthy 
has given his adventures to the world in the shape of an auto- 
biography, published some five years since, and written with 
considerable spirit. The story told in it of his hairbreadth 
escape from the clutches of the Vigilance Committee is 
extremely exciting. Its agents pursued him with such 
rancour that, after with the greatest difficulty he had escaped 
to a steamer starting for Victoria, he was recognized, fired at, 
and a bullet sent through the lappel of his coat. 

That such a man as this was known to be at HilPs Bar, 
some two miles below Yale, where he had a very rich claim, 
and to have with him, and under his influence, a strong party 
of followers bold and lawless as himself, might well give the 
authorities serious concern. Upon the news, therefore, being 
sent down of M'Gowan' s having created a disturbance, the 
Governor requested Capt. Prevost to send a party to aid the 



60 < PLUMPEE ' AT LANGLEY. Chap. IV. 

Colonel. The * Plumper ' was the only vessel ayailable for 
this service, and accordingly we embarked a party of marines 
and blue-jackets, under Lieutenant Gooch, from the ' Satellite,' 
and started at once for the scene of action. 

Upon arriving at Langley we found that Colonel Moody had 
taken the ' Enterprise,' the only steamer then on the river 
capable of going further up it than Langley, and had pushed on 
to Yale with twenty-five of the Engineers under the command 
of Captain Grant, E.E. As the field-piece we had brought with 
us must have been parted with had the men been sent on, there 
being no other way of despatching them except in canoes, it 
was considered advisable to keep them on board the ' Plumper ' 
at Langley, and that a messenger should at once follow and 
overtake Colonel Moody. This service devolved upon me, and 
I received orders to proceed up the river with despatches 
from Captain Eichards informing the Colonel of the presence 
of the force at Langley, and to bring back his instructions. 

Mr. Yale, the Hudson Bay Compay's officer at Fort Lang- 
ley, undertook to provide a canoe and crew for the journey, 
and my own preparations were soon made — a blanket, frock 
and trowsers, a couple of rugs, two or three pipes, plenty of 
tobacco, tea, coffee, some meat and bread, a frying-pan and 
saucepan, completing my outfit. At this time canoe-travel- 
ling was quite new to me, and, familiar as it has since become, 
I quite well remember the curious sensations with which this 
my first journey of the kind was commenced. It was mid- 
winter, the snow lay several inches thick upon the ground ; 
the latest reports from up the river spoke of much ice about 
and below Fort Hope, so that I was by no means sorry to 
avail myself of the offer of Mr. Lewis, of the Hudson Bay 
Company, who had accompanied the ' Plumper ' to Langley 
as pilot, to be my companion. Mr. Yale had selected a good 
canoe and nine stout paddlers, four half-breeds and five In- 
dians, and when I landed from the ship a few minutes before 
eleven they were waiting on the beach, dressed in their 



Chap. IV. CANOE JOURNEY. 61 

best blankets, with large streamers of bright red, blue, and 
yellow ribbons, in which they delight so much, flying 
from their caps. Mr. Yale had previously harangued them, 
and presented them with these streamers by way of impress- 
ing them with the importance of the service in which they 
were engaged. Seating ourselves in the canoe as comfort- 
ably as we could, away we started, the frail bark flying over 
the smooth water, and the crew singing at the top of their 
wild, shrill voices, their parti-coloured decorations streaming 
in the bitter winter wind. 

The North American Indians, and. indeed, the Canadians 
as well, paddle much more steadily when they sing. They 
keep splendid time, and, by way of accompaniment, bring 
the handle of their paddles sharply against the gunwale of 
the canoe. In singing their custom is — and the greatest 
stickler for etiquette among us will find himself outdone 
by the Indian's respect lor whatever habit or fashion may 
have dictated — for the steersman to sing, the crew taking 

up the churns. Although I have frequently tried to induce 
one of the others t<> -start a song, with the view of testing 
the strength of their social habit in this respect, I have 
never succeeded unless supported in my request by the 
steersman. This post of honour is usually conferred upon 
the senior of the party, unless the owner of the canoe happens 
to form one of the crew, when he takes the seat by virtue of 
his interest in it. Next in position and importance to the 
steersman are the pair of paddlers who sit immediately behind 
the passengers ; then come the two forward hands, who have 
a great deal to do with the management of the canoe in 
keeping it clear of blocks of floating ice, or the snags which 
often appear suddenly under its bows, and preventing the 
current from spinning it round and swamping it, which, but 
for the keen look-out they keep and their dexterity in the 
use of the paddles, would often happen in such swift and 
treaeherous currents, as those of North American rivers. 



62 CANOE JOURNEY. Chap. IV. 

We paddled along quickly until five o'clock, when we 
stopped for supper, and, landing, made tea. This meal 
over, we started again and held on steadily all night. If the 
journey by day was strange and somewhat exciting, how 
much more so did it become when night set in ! Wet, cold, 
and tired, we rolled ourselves up in the rugs, and in time 
fell into a broken sleep, lulled by the monotonous rap of the 
paddles upon the gunwale of the canoe, the rippling sound of 
the water against its sides, the song of the men now rising 
loud and shrill, now sinking into a low, drowsy hum. Ever 
and anon roused by a louder shout from the paddlers in 
the bow, we started up to find the canoe sweeping by some 
boat moored to the shore, or a miner's watch-fire, from which 
an indistinct figure would rise, gaze at us wonderingly as we 
passed howling by, and sometimes shout to us loudly in 
reply. We might well startle such of the miners as saw 
or heard us. Whenever we passed a fire, or a boat drawn up 
ashore, or moored to the trees by the beach, in which miners 
might be sleeping, the Indians would commence singing at 
the top of their voices ; and we often saw sleepers start up, in 
wonder no doubt, who could be travelling on the river at 
night at such a season, — and in some fear perhaps, for several 
murders had lately been committed, which were attributed 
rightly or wrongly to Indian agency. And, indeed, as we 
swept by a watch-fire near enough for its glare to light up 
the dark figures straining at their hard work, and their wild, 
swarthy faces, with the long, bright ribbons streaming behind 
them, — we might well give a shock to some wearied sleeper 
roused abruptly from dreams of home, or some rich claim 
which was to make his fortune, by the wild Indian boat-chant. 

Most of our journey lay close along the shore, where, of 
course, the current was less rapid and advantage could be 
taken of the numerous eddies that set in near the banks. Our 
chief man was quite well acquainted with the river's navigation, 
having been for years in the Hudson Bay Company's employ. 



Chap. IV. CANOE JOURNEY. 63 

When we came to a rapid, or it was necessary to cross the 
river from one bank to the other, by one consent the singing 
would cease, the paddlers' breath be husbanded to better 
purpose, and every muscle strained to force the canoe over 
the present difficulty. At such times when any greater 
exertion was necessary, or a more formidable obstacle than 
usual seemed on the point of being mastered, the Indians 
would give a loud prolonged shout terminating in a shriller 
key, and dash their paddles into the boiling water with still 
fiercer vehemence. There can bo few stranger sensations 
than that which we felt many times that night, when after 
paddling so steadily alongshore that we had fallen fast asleep, 
rere awoke suddenly by a heavy lurch of the canoe, and 
found the water rushing in over the gunwale, and the boat 
almost swamped by the fierce exertions of the paddlers, and 
tearing broadside down rather than across the rapid river, 
until with a shout it was run ashore on the opposite bank, and 
the excited rowers rested a few minutes to regain their breath 
before again paddling up the quieter water by the shore. 

Next morning, about four o'clock, we landed for a short 
spell of rest, and, clearing away the snow, lit a fire and lay 
round it for a couple of hours. At the end of that time we 
picked ourselves up, still' with cold, and breakfasted, and by 
half-past seven were under weigh again and paddling up the 
river, the Indians, to all appearance, as lively and unwearied 
as if they had slept the whole night through. I cannot say 
the same for their passengers. It was very cold, a sensation 
which we both tried in vain to get rid of by taking an occa- 
sional turn at the paddles ; and the few snatches of short, dis- 
turbed sleep we had managed to obtain had left us very much 
fatigued. The novelty of the situation, too, in my case had 
worn away, and I confess that the second night of my journey 
was one of unmitigated discomfort and weariness. Upon 
the second morning we rested a little longer by our watchfire, 
Myhu-pu-pu, the head man of the party, assuring us that we 



64 NARROW ESCAPE. Chap. IV. 

had plenty of time to reach Hope before nightfall. But 
Myhu-pu-pu was wrong : night fell while we were still some 
miles below the fort. About three in the afternoon we had 
boarded the ' Enterprise ' and learnt that she had been three 
days in the ice, had only got out of it indeed the previous 
morning, and that Colonel Moody had not, therefore, been 
able to reach Hope until that day. We had reason to con- 
gratulate ourselves upon our good fortune, as we had only 
met some floating ice arid been nowhere in very serious danger 
from it, although once or twice we had narrowly escaped being 
swamped by floating blocks. But as we proceeded we found 
the river more and more swollen, the ice thicker and in greater 
quantities, and despite all the efforts of the crew, darkness 
set in while we were yet some miles short of our destination. 
On we pushed, however, and I had fallen asleep, when I was 
suddenly awakened by a sharp crack almost under my head. 
The canoe had struck a rock in crossing a rapid in the 
river, at a spot now known as Cornish Bar, but then called 
Murderer's Bar, from a murder that had taken place there, 
and she was stove in unmistakeably. 

Thanks to the courage and skill of the elder of the crew, 
we were extricated from our perilous predicament. Leaping 
on to the rock, against which the full force of the current was 
driving the canoe, they lifted her off without a moment's hesi- 
tation, and the other rowers shooting her ashore, we all jumped 
out and ran her up upon the snow. Of course everything 
was wet, ourselves included ; but we were too grateful for our 
narrow escape to heed this trifling inconvenience. Mean- 
while the men, whose courage and readiness had preserved 
us, were still upon the rock, the current sweeping by up to 
their knees and threatening to carry them away. The canoe 
being hastily repaired and veered down to them by a 
rope, they too were brought safely ashore. Then arose the 
question, how were we to be got to Fort Hope that night ? 
It was a serious one, not admitting of a very easy solution. 



Chap. IT. FORT HOPE. 65 

To get the canoe afloat again was soon found impossible, as 
she was split fore and aft, and it was ultimately determined 
to leave two of the Indians in charge of it while the rest of us 
tried to make the trail, which was known to pass near this 
spot to the Fort. I have since that night walked that trail, 
when it was as pretty and pleasant a summer evening's stroll 
as any one would wish to enjoy ; but on this occasion, with two 
or three feet of snow upon it, and three or four feet more 
ready to receive us on either side if a false step was made, 
that three-mile walk to Hope was very hard work while it 
lasted. It was worse for my companion (Mr. Lewis), for in 
crossing a river by a fallen tree, which served as a bridge, 
his foot gave way and he slipped in, drenching his frozen 
clothes and limbs afresh. Fortunately, however, it was not 
very deep, and he was fished out, and we reached the Fort 
without further accident. 

Siuce the time of which I am now writing the old Hudson 
Bay Fort has been pulled down, and a more commodious one 
erected in its stead. Then the officer in charge of it had only 
one ehamber to serve for both sitting and bed room ; and late 
at night into this and the presence of Colonel Moody, Captain 
Grant, Mr. Begbie, and the Hudson Bay Company's officers, 
gathered round the fire, we made our way, looking, I dare 
say, pitiable objects enough. With the ready kindness which 
I never failed to meet with from the Company's officers in 
British Columbia, Mr. Ogilvy soon equipped both of us in 
suits of dry clothes, and seated us before a hot supper. 

In a subsequent chapter I shall have occasion to speak more 
fully of " bars ;" but as the word will occur frequently in this 
book, I may here say that all those places where gold is found 
and worked on a river's bank are called by that name. This 
term has become the recognised one, and is not mere miner's 
slang; all proclamations referring to gold-extracting, &c, 
being addressed to the " mining bars " of such and such a 
district. 



66 < MINING-BARS.' Chap. IV. 

Bars are formed simply by a deposit of heaps of detritus at 
various bends of a river flowing through accumulations of 
irrupted rock, and between mountains whose sides have been 
broken down by former great convulsions. The rushing 
river tears away mass after mass of this rock and gravel, and, 
carrying on a natural combination of the "sluicing" and 
" crushing " processes, deposits the gold, with its ever-accom- 
panying black metallic sand and a certain quantity of common 
earth, at intervals along its banks, carrying most of the 
lighter sand, &c, out to its mouth, there to form sandbanks 
and flats. It will be easily understood, therefore, that these 
bars are formed at every place where there is or has been 
anything to catch the drift as it comes down. But what is 
somewhat curious is the very different value of the deposit 
at various bars, or even parts of the same bar, some being 
very rich, others very poor, even where they are close toge- 
ther ; and this happens not in the vertical section, which 
would be to some extent intelligible, but at an equal distance 
under the surface. One part of a bar may " give out," while 
another part will be worth working 20 feet deeper. 

Thus all bars are formed in the same way, even although 
the rivers which deposited some of them have long since 
ceased to flow, or been diverted into other channels, causing 
what are termed " dry diggings," of which I shall speak here- 
after. Yery rich bars are often covered with sand, mud, &c, 
for, in some instances, several hundred feet. In California 
some of the richest diggings now worked are the beds of old 
rivers, quite dry, often running in very different directions to 
those of the present streams, and occurring from 100 to 300 
feet below what is now the surface of the earth. 

The Commissioner was, when I reported myself, rather 
surprised at the promptitude with which his requisition for 
troops had been met by the Governor, and perhaps a little 
embarrassed. His impression now was that the reports 
which had reached him at Yale and hurried him hither had 



Chap. IV. YALE — RIVER-SCENERY. 67 

been greatly exaggerated, and from the accounts which had 
since reached him he had the best reason to believe that the 
feeling of the mining population at Yale and elsewhere had 
been grossly misrepresented. However, he said that he had 
decided on proceeding next day to Yale with Mr. Begbie 
only, leaving Captain Grant and his party of Engineers at 
Hope ; and he desired me to accompany him, so that if, upon 
his arrival at Yale, the presence of troops should be found 
necessary, I might return to Hope with orders to that effect ; 
and it was also determined that Mr. Lewis should take the 
canoe back to Langley as soon as it was repaired, and tell 
Captain Richards of my arrival and detention. 

Next morning, therefore, we started, and reached Yale at 
three. The town was perfectly quiet, and the Colonel was 
received upon his entrance with the most vociferous cheering 
and every sign of respect and loyalty. Upon the way up we 
Stopped at several of the bars, and made inquiries which 
satisfied us that the miners were doing very well, although 
they complained that the snow had for some days past kept 
them from working. The river-scenery between these two 
ports was beautiful, even at this season of the year. The 
distance is only fifteen miles, but the strengtli of the current 
is so great that in the winter five or six hours are consumed 
in the journey, and in the summer — when the stream is 
swollen by the melting snow — double that time is often taken. 
The only streams of any size that feed the Fraser for this 
distance are the Swal-lach-Coom, which flows into it some 
five miles below Yale, and the Que-que-alla, which runs into 
it two miles above Hope. The Que-que-alla is a considerable 
stream, dividing into two branches further in, and contains 
numbers of trout. The mountains on either side are from 
tliree to four thousand feet high, and are composed almost 
entifely of plutonic rocks, and at their base is found the 
" drift" in which the gold is contained. 

As I have already said, Fort Yale presented the most peace- 

f2 



68 HILL'S BAR. Chap. IV. 

ful aspect imaginable. The day after our arrival happening 
to be Sunday, Colonel Moody performed service in the court- 
house. It was the first time this had ever happened in 
Yale, and the thirty or forty miners who attended formed a 
most orderly and attentive congregation. After church, the 
difficulty which had brought us here was investigated, and 
the magistrate at Hill's Bar, the principal bar on this part 
of the river, lying a mile below Yale, was suspended from 
his functions. A very few words will suffice to explain 
it. At Hill's Bar there was a resident magistrate, who was 
One of the miners, though superior to most of them in posi- 
tion and acquirements; and at Yale two others — one who 
was shortly afterwards proved guilty of some rascality and 
discharged ; the^other, an honest man enough, but altogether 
unfit, from temperament and social position, for the discharge 
of his duties. These three dignitaries were not upon the 
best terms with one another, and two of them claimed a 
certain case and prisoner as belonging each to his own dis- 
trict, and disputed the right of adjudicating upon them to 
such a degree that, one having possession of the culprit's 
body, and refusing to give it up to his colleague, the other 
went to the length of swearing in special constables to his 
aid, and removing the prisoner by force of arms to his 
jurisdiction at Hill's Bar. Among these special constables, 
and very possibly among the instigators of the squabble, 
Mr. Edward McGowan figured conspicuously ; and it was the 
outraged magistrate's report, that this worthy had been 
prison-breaking in his district, that gave it to the autho- 
rities at Langley and Victoria so serious an aspect. How- 
ever, upon investigating the matter, he was found to have 
acted, if with indiscreet zeal, yet not illegally, and no charge 
was preferred against him on that account. But the same 
afternoon, while Colonel Moody, representing the majesty of 
the law, was still at Yale, Mr. McGowan outraged it unmis- 
takably by committing an unprovoked assault. This, coupled 



Chap. IV. PRECAUTIONS AGAINST A RIOT. 69 

with sundry other suspicious circumstances, caused Colonel 
Moody to think that McGowan's friends and admirers would, 
if provoked, break into serious insubordination ; and he at 
once instructed me to drop down the river to Hope and 
Langley, and order up the Engineers, Marines, and blue- 
jackets left at those places. 

The utmost precaution was taken about my journey. Mr. 
Allard, the Hudson Bay Company's officer at Yale, was 
instructed to have a small canoe launched unseen by the 
miners, who, it was thought, might endeavour to stop me, 
as they no doubt easily could have done. The darkness was 
waited for, and, the canoe being launched and dropped about 
half a mile down the river, Mr. Allard came to the house 
for me, and led me to it along the river's bank. As we 
dropped down the stream I was afraid even to light a pipe 
lest we should be stopped at Hill's Bar. Absurd as all this 
now seems — especially as 1 heard on my return that the 
miners knew perfectly well of my starting — it was not with- 
out its use at the time. The promptitude with which Captain 
Grant appeared on the spot with the Engineers at daylight 
next morning astonished the miners a good deal, and it need 
not be assumed that, because they apologised and paid their 
fines, they would have done so equally had coercion not been 
threatened. 

Reaching Hope at half-past eight that night, I very much 
astonished Captain Grant by telling him that he was to start 
for Yale at once, and, landing his men below Hill's Bar on the 
opposite side of the river, to march thence into Yale. Having 
given these instructions, I embarked in the canoe again, and 
about midnight — spinning down the Fraser being a very 
different matter to struggling up against its current — reached 
the ' Enterprise/ which was to convey me to Langley, and 
bring the men there up. Here a slight delay took place, 
as the steamer could not be got ready to start until day- 
break; but away we went the instant dawn broke, and 



70 THE DIFFICULTY ARRANGED. Chap. IV. 

reached Langley in the afternoon of the following day, where, 
the * Enterprise ' having wooded, every one was got aboard, 
and we were struggling up against the current by six p.m., 
reaching Smess River by nine or ten that night, and Cornish 
Bar by 8*30 the following night. 

There the ' Enterprise's ' further progress was effectually 
barred, and, taking a canoe again, I made my way to Hope, 
where I found that further instructions had come from the 
Colonel to the effect that the blue-jackets were to remain 
there, and only the Marines to go on to Yale. So things 
were looking less martial, and I was not surprised, on pushing 
forward to Yale next morning, to find that the short cam- 
paign was at an end, and the peace, which had hardly been 
disturbed, restored. Mr. McGowan, after enjoying the sensa- 
tion he had caused, paid the Commissioner a formal visit, 
and, after making a very gentlemanlike apology for the hasty 
blow which had disturbed the peace of British Columbia, 
and entering into an elaborate and, I believe, successful 
defence of his previous conduct in the squabble of the rival 
judges, committed himself frankly into the hands of justice. 
What could be done with such a frank, entertaining rascal ? 
Justice herself could not press hardly for her dues in such a 
case. He was fined for the assault, exonerated from all pre- 
vious misdemeanours, and next day, upon Hill's Bar being 
visited by Mr. Begbie (the Chief Justice) and myself, he con- 
ducted us over the diggings, washed some " dirt " to show us 
the process, and invited us to a collation in his hut, where 
we drank champagne with some twelve or fifteen of his Cali- 
fornian mining friends. And, whatever opinion the Vigilance 
Committee of San Francisco might entertain of these gentle- 
men, I, speaking as I found them, can only say that, all 
things considered, I have rarely lunched with a better-spoken, 
pleasanter party. The word " miner " to many unacquainted 
with the gold-fields conveys an impression similar, perhaps, 
to that of " navvy." But among them may often be found 



Chap. IV. 'EXPRESSES' AND 'EXPRESS MEN.' 71 

men who, by birth and education, are well qualified to bold 
their own in the most civilised community of Europe. Here, 
for instance, I was entertained in the hut of a man who — by 
virtue of his rascality, no doubt — had been selected to fill 
the office of judge among his fellows in California ; while 
one of my neighbours had taken his degree at an American 
University, and may since, for aught I know, have edited a 
Greek play and been made a bishop. I remember afterwards 
travelling with two men, who, meeting casually, recognised 
one another as old schoolfellows and class-men. Neither was 
in the least surprised at the other's condition, although one 
was a well-to-do surgeon with a very remunerative practice, 
and the other was an " express " man, penniless, and carrying 
letters some 130 or 140 miles for a subsistence. 

As I have several times mentioned "expresses" and "ex- 
press-men," I may here explain that ail over California and 
Jhitish Columbia letters or parcels are carried with perfect 
safety, and, all things considered, very cheaply, by means of 
them. ■ The organisation of some of these companies is most 
elaborate. The principal one there is Wells Fargo's, which 
has agencies all over the world. Their office at Victoria is one 
of the finest buildings there ; and their house in San Fran- 
cisco is as large as our General Post-office. I have never 
known a letter sent by them miscarry. The charge for send- 
ing anywhere in California is only 10 cents (5c?.), and so great 
is my faith in them that I would trust anything, in even that 
most insecure country, in an envelope bearing the stamp of 
Wells Fargo and Co.'s Express. There are several minor 
expresses in different parts of the country — Ballou's Fraser 
Eiver Express, Jeffray's Express, Freeman's Express — all of 
which appear to flourish ; and so great is the trust reposed 
in them, and the speed with which they travel, that the 
miners, as yet, prefer sending their dust by them to the 
Government escort. 

A few days later we dropped down the river to Hope? 



72 NEW WESTMINSTER. Chap. IV. 

where the blue-jackets were paraded, and our one field-piece 
fired the first salute ever heard at Fort Hope in honour of 
the Colonel. The men were then got safely on board the 
* Plumper ' again, which proceeded to examine the river 
and its north bank a few miles below Langley, and report 
whether it would do for the site of the capital of British 
Columbia — it having been decided that Derby, or New 
Langley, the spot first selected, was not desirable. The site 
of New Westminster — or Queenborough, as it was first called 
— is, so far as its geographical position is concerned, very 
good indeed, as it is also in a strategical point of view; 
but the bush there was very thick, while at Derby there was 
a large space of clear ground. The work of clearing the 
bush has been the great drawback to the progress of New 
Westminster. Dr. Campbell and I went to examine a part 
a little north of where the town stands, and so thick was the 
bush that it took us two hours to force our way in rather 
less than a mile and a-half, Where we penetrated it was 
composed of very thick willow and alder, intertwined so 
closely that every step of the way had to be broken through, 
while the ground was cumbered with fallen timber of a larger 
growth. During this scramble I stumbled upon a large bear, 
which seemed to be as much surprised to see me as I was at 
sight of him, and I dare say equally discomposed. At any 
rate, he showed no disposition to cultivate my acquaintance ; 
and, as I was some way ahead of my companion and had 
only one barrel of my gun loaded with small shot, I was not 
sorry to find that our ways seemed to lie in opposite direc- 
tions. 

The site hit upon by Colonel Moody was a little below 
this thick bush, where the ground was somewhat clearer. 
Eegarded both in a military and commercial light, it was 
infinitely preferable to the spot which had previously been 
fixed upon for this purpose higher up and on the opposite 
side of the river. New Westminster has manv natural 



Chap. IT. RETURN TO VICTORIA. I'd 

advantages in which Derby is wanting, not the least being 
sufficient depth of water to allow the largest class of vessels 
capable of passing the sand-heads at the Fraser mouth to 
moor alongside of its wharves. I shall have occasion at a 
future time to speak at greater length of this and the other 
settlements upon the Fraser River. 

Our time for some weeks after this was employed • in 
cruising among the islands, creeks, and inlets, upon sur- 
veying work, which, however valuable to the future settlers 
and navigators of British Columbia, is but little likely to 
interest the general reader. 

March, 1851). — Upon our return to Victoria a difficulty 
which had been felt for some time, arising from the growing 
immigration of Northern Indians, who came down from 
Queen Charlotte Island, Fort Simpson, and the inlets north 
of Vancouver Island, to see and trade with the white men, 
had reached such a pitch that it was necessary for the 
Government to take some steps in the matter. Numbers of 
these, with their families, came down Johnstone Strait in large 
canoes, carrying furs and skins which they expected to sell 
for fabulous prices. They were scarcely pleasant visitors — 
not likely to be welcomed by a young community with a 
newly-formed and small police, as, although quiet enough 
when sober, they got drunk as often as they had a chance, 
and then became quite unmanageable. 

These Indians of the northern coast tribes of British 
Columbia and Vancouver Island are much finer and fiercer 
men than the Songhies, the tribe living at and in the neigh- 
bourhood of Victoria, or indeed than any of the southern 
tribes. They are constantly at war with one another, and 
were as likely as not to bring their feuds south with them, 
and could be as little trusted to keep from blows, if they 
met in Victoria, as the rival Highland clans in old times 
when they came into collision in the streets of Edinburgh. 
They all travelled armed ; for in their journey to Victoria 



74 IMMIGKATION OF INDIANS. Chap. IV. 

they had to pass the neighbourhood of several hostile tribes, 
by whom they were certain to be attacked if caught un- 
prepared. One tribe especially, living at Cape Mudge, the 
south point of Yaldez Island, and known as the U-cle-ta, 
are the Ishmaelites of the country, whose hands are literally 
against every man, and every man's against them. There 
was a great fight between these and the men of a northern 
tribe coming south in 1858, in which a good many were 
killed on either side ; and they are always on the look- 
out for any one passing by their neighbourhood, and of course 
suffer in their turn whenever they are caught at a disadvan- 
tage. Upon one occasion, when I was camped for the Sunday 
in a pleasant little cove, just southward of Point Chatham, in 
Johnstone's Strait, it happened that a party of some hundred 
Haida Indians from Queen Charlotte Island came past on 
their way to Victoria. n seeing our boats, they came 
alongside, as Indians always do, and began, after their fashion, 
chattering and exhibiting their furs and specimens of the 
gold they had collected in Queen Charlotte Island. In the 
middle of our talk the canoes which had been keeping watch 
outside in the strait while the rest were with us raised an alarm. 
Two small canoes of another tribe, that had been near us all 
the morning fishing, just then hove in sight again, and imme- 
diately our companions pulled out and examined the muskets 
that lay under cover ready to their grasp. Although we 
were not in sufficient force to interfere between them, I have 
no doubt whatever that the poor fellows in the canoes, who 
had slept at our camp the night previously, would have been 
murdered or taken into slavery but for our presence. 

Efforts have been made to put down this cruel system of 
predatory warfare, and occasionally a grand peace-making 
of the hostile tribes is held, at which eternal friendship is 
vowed. But it is not long before some fresh depredation is 
committed, or some solitary Indian is caught by a party of 
another tribe, and the temptation to murder or take him 



Chap. IV. THEIR CHARACTER AND HABITS. 75 

prisoner being too strong to be resisted, war breaks out again. 
The U-cle-ta are great offenders in this way. In the summer 
of 18G0 a lesson was administered to them, which, it is to be 
hoped, may do them some good. A party of them had at- 
tacked and robbed some Chinamen, and escaped to their 
village at Cape Mudge, which, being stockaded for protection 
against the other tribes, they no doubt thought would be 
equally efficacious against white men. II. M. gunboat ' For- 
ward ' was sent there to demand restitution ; and, on approach- 
ing the village, she was fired upon from the stockade with 
loud shouts of defiance. The gunboat first fired a shell or 
two over; but, Indian-like, they mistook this leniency for 
inability to hit them, and coming out in front of the stockade 
fired several volleys at her, which fortunately, however, 
fell harmless against her rifle-plates. {She then opened fire 
upon their canoes on the beach, and lastly upon the stockade ; 
and it was not till several men were killed that they came to 
terms, and restored the stolen property. 

One of the most fertile sources of quarrel among all the 
tribes on this coast with whom I am at all acquainted 
arises from the intrigues of the Indians with the squaws of 
neighbouring tribes. Indeed the breach of the Seventh Com- 
mandment is as fashionable in this out-of-the-way part of 
the world as it has been at times among European com- 
munities. A code of reprisals and compensation has been 
adopted among them which certainly has the merit of sim- 
plicity. The aggrieved husband whose wife has been misled 
troubles his head very little about her ; and when she comes 
back to him, wdiich she does very soon, shows no inclination 
to visit her offence at all hardly upon her. But although he 
receives her again, he to a certain extent discards her, and, 
if he can afford it, adds another wife to his establishment. 
Should number two go astray, as is very probable, he takes a 
third wife ; but he keeps the sinners, penitent or not, With 
him still, and they all live together to all appearance con- 



76 THEIR CHARACTER AND HABITS. Chap. IV. 

tentedly enough. Meanwhile he is busy making reprisals 
upon his enemy ; and the result, when they happen to be 
chiefs, is probably a war between two tribes, in which the 
members of both join with the greatest interest and zeal. 

It is in such social habits that the missionaries find their 
greatest difficulties when working for the reformation of these 
people, more particularly as the white trader generally con- 
firms by his practice all that the red man is warned against. 
If nothing else pleads for the introduction of Englishwomen 
into British Columbia, this fact surely does. In reference 
to the Indian disregard of marital obligations, I remember a 
noted Chief, named St. Paul, in the interior of the country 
— of whom I shall have more to say hereafter — telling me 
that the Eoman Catholic priests had often remonstrated with 
him upon his life ; and, among other social reformations that 
seemed to them desirable, had urged him to go through the 
marriage ceremony with his present wife. " To what avail ? " 
argued St. Paul. "So long as she remains true to me, I 
will hold to her; but if she fails me — married or not — I 
shall discard her for another." 

I have said that it was partly curiosity to see the white 
man, and still more the hope of making larger sums for 
their furs than the Hudson Bay Company's agents would 
give them, that led the Indians to make the journey to 
Victoria. In the latter hope they were often disappointed ; 
but it must not, therefore, be inferred that the Indians are 
bad traders. On the contrary, they are some of the best 
hands at a bargain or deal I have ever met with ; the squaws, 
as may be usual with their sex, having the most to say upon 
the matter, and being the harder to persuade. In buying of 
Indians, if the squaw be present, it is always advisable to win 
her favour. The man never concludes a bargain without 
consulting her ; and I have frequently seen her put a veto 
upon some commercial arrangement that I had imagined 
settled, simply because she happened to be annoyed, and was 



Chap. IV. PLANS FOR CHECKING THEIR IMMIGRATION. 77 

sulky at something that had transpired while the bargain was 
being made. So, when the matter is aettled, the shirts, 
blankets, or other articles taken in exchange are always 
passed to the woman for her inspection and approval ; and 
she claims the right of declaring the deal at an end, even at 
the eleventh moment, if she disapproves of their make or ma- 
terial. It is, therefore, always advisable to win her to your 
side, if possible, when buying anything ; and this can gene- 
rally be done by a judicious present of beads, or perhaps a 
pair of gorgeous earrings. 

The presence of these people in large and increasing 
numbers was felt as a serious inconvenience, and possible 
danger to Victoria. Several plans for checking their immi- 
gration were proposed, and at last it was determined — not, 
I think, with the judgment that ordinarily characterised the 
dealing of the Government with the Indians — to send them 
back to their own country. The impolicy of such a measure 
soon became apparent, to say nothing of the impossibility of 
carrying it into effect. No one who knew anything of the 
Indian character would believe that sending a few hundreds 
back would have the effect of deterring others from attempt- 
ing the voyage down. Besides which, how could it be 
expected that men whom we had driven away or kept back 
forcibly from our towns would permit whites to " prospect" for 
gold or settle in their country ? An endeavour was, however, 
made to carry out this resolution ; and upon their making 
the excuse -that they were afraid of encountering the hostile 
Indians of Nanaimo and other places on their return, H.M.S. 
' Tribune ' was called upon to convoy them as far north as 
Cape Mudge. But, even while on their way, they met many 
others coming down ; and it was evident that nothing but 
violent measures of repression, backed by a strong military 
and naval force, were likely to stem the tide of savage life 
that was setting southward. So at last it was considered 
useless to try ; and Mr. Duncan, the missionary, having for- 



78 INDIANS DISARMED. Chap. IV. 

tunately arrived from the North, his advice was sought upon 
the subject, and jt was decided to take measures to settle 
them upon their arrival in camps of their own, near Victoria, 
and to take away their muskets from them while they re- 
mained there. This latter measure was of the first import- 
ance, as for a long time past it had become positively unsafe 
to take the Esquimalt road after dark at night from the 
number of drunken Indians lying about, who were wont to 
discharge their muskets upon the slightest provocation ; and 
as they occupied huts on either side of the road, they often 
fired across from one to the other, to the great inconvenience, 
to say no more, of the passer by. 

The ordinance with respect to disarming the Indians was 
not so well carried out as it might have been. The Indians 
complained, and with some reason, that they rarely if ever 
received their own guns back again. It was not to be ex- 
pected, of course, that the police of Victoria should return to 
each man his own musket ; but care might have been taken 
to keep the weapons of each party distinct, so that they could 
select their own. 

The presence and influence of Mr. Duncan, of whom I 
shall have to speak at length hereafter, were, however, of 
much value in keeping these Northern Indians in order ; a 
school was built for them, which was well attended, and they 
passed the summer quietly enough. 



Chap. V. RUNNING SURVEY OF THE FRASER RIVER. 79 



CHAPTER V. 



Description of the River Fraser and the Country beyond — The Bush of 
British Columbia — American River Steamers — The Harrison-Lilloett 

Route to Lytton — Account of Indian Guides, &c. — Damp Life — The 

Canons on the Upper Fraser. 

March 31st, 1859.— From this time until the 7th of April, 
the 'Plumper' was busy surveying the Harbour of Victoria. 
On the 10th we sailed for Nanaimo, and then across the 
Straits to Fraser River, where we met the ' Satellite,' and 
embarked from her the Marines who had come over in the 
* Tribune,' and twenty Engineers, whom we had orders to land 
at New Westminster, which place had since our last visit 
become the head-quarters of what military force was stationed 
in British Columbia. 

Shortly before leaving Esquimalt upon this mission, the 
Governor had requested Captain Richards to send one of the 
Officers of the ■ Plumper ' up the Fraser River, to make a 
running survey of those parts of it then occupied by miners, 
and to report upon it generally ; and I was ordered to un- 
dertake this task, Dr. Campbell, assistant-surgeon of the 
ship, accompanying me. The programme which was sketched 
out for me by his Excellency was, to ascend the Fraser as far 
as Cayoosh (now Lilloett), returning thence by the Harrison 
and Lilloett trail. Discretion, however, was given me to 
modify this route, if it should appear to be desirable. 

From Victoria to the entrance of the Fraser, the distance 
by water is ninety miles. At present I will only speak of 
the western passage by the Canal de Haro, as it is generally 
if not always used. Starting from Victoria, a ship rounds 



80 WESTERN PASSAGE FROM VICTORIA. Chap. Y. 

Discovery Island, the smaller river-steamers passing inside, 
and then turning up the Canal or Strait of Haro. This island 
was called by Vancouver after his ship ; indeed, almost all 
these places were named before our arrival there. It is very 
easy to distinguish between the parts named by Vancouver 
or by the Spanish explorers G-aliano and Valdes. Thus, 
although the eastern channel through the islands was called 
Canal del nostra Senora de Kosario, the presence of the 
English at the same time is obvious, from the fact that we 
find spots in it bearing such names as Cypress Island, Straw- 
berry Bay, &c. So the earliest passage of the Spanish ships 
up the Strait of Haro is evident from the islands and bays 
bearing names such as San Juan, Cordova, and Saturna. 
Again, we need not ask the nationality of the voyager who 
named Admiralty Inlet; and we know that Puget Sound, 
now in American territory, owes its appellation to one of 
Vancouver's officers of that name. 

Should the day be clear, the traveller rounding Discovery 
Island obtains a magnificent view of the mainland, with the 
snow-capped peaks of Mounts Baker and Rainier towering in 
the distance. Under such favourable circumstances, the view 
of Vancouver Island is exceedingly attractive, the otherwise 
barren shore being pleasantly diversified with the houses 
and buildings of the few farmers who have settled here, 
and brought the land into cultivation. Upon the Island 
of San Juan also, which is passed in crossing to the 
Fraser, may be seen the buildings of the Hudson Bay farm 
rising in the midst of the green prairie that forms the south- 
east end of that island. Leaving San Juan, the steamer's 
course passes through a pretty little group of islands which 
lie on the west of the strait, up Plumper Sound, through 
Active Passage, a narrow passage between Galiano and 
Mayne Islands, by taking which a considerable saving of 
time and distance is effected, and so out into the Gulf of 
Georgia opposite Point Roberts. 



Chap. V. ROBERTS " CITY." 81 

When the first rush to the diggings commenced, Point 
Roberts, upon or near which there was no house nor any 
symptom of one being built, was at once fixed upon as the site 
of an important " city ; " and half-a-dozen buildings sprang up 
on the flat in front of the bluff, where, while the stream of boats 
and canoes was pouring up the river, they drove a brisk and 
flourishing trade in whisky especially. But when the rush 
subsided, and steamers took the place of the boats and canoes 
in which the earliest miners had made their hazardous passage 
from Victoria, Roberts found its occupation gone, and nothing 
but the remains of two or three log-huts marks the site of 
the departed city. 

In crossing the Gulf of Georgia, there may frequently be 
seen, as the Fraser is neared, the line of the fresh and salt 
waters very clearly defined. And this, indeed, is almost the 
only sign that a river is being approached. From Point 
Roberts to Burrard Inlet, a distance of 28 miles, the coast is 
low and swampy, the trees appealing to form so thick and 
unbroken a line, when looked at from the Gulf of Georgia, 
that Vancouver, carefully as he examined this coast for all 
inland waters, penetrating every inlet under the impression 
that some day he should hit upon the one that should con- 
duct him into Hudson Bay, sailed past the mouth of the 
Fraser without the least suspicion of having passed a river 
at all. 

The sand-bank at the entrance of the Fraser is called the 
Sturgeon Bank, from the number of those fish caught by the 
Indians upon it. It extends from Point Grey, the southern 
entrance to Burrard Inlet, to Point Roberts, but does not 
join the latter, leaving thus a small space available for 
anchorage on its west side. This bank, and the entrance to 
the Fraser river generally, have been most unfairly com- 
pared to the Columbia. But there is really no point of 
resemblance between them. The Columbia is one of 
the most dangerous bar-rivers in the world, and one upon 

G 



82 ENTRANCE TO FRASER RIVER. Chap. V. 

which vessels are constantly lost. The captains of the 
mail-packets consider the passage of this bar the only real 
danger in the yoyage from San Francisco; they always 
batten down everything on going in or out, and are accus- 
tomed to wait three or four days, and sometimes even longer, 
for fine weather before they will come out of the river. Nor 
is this at all surprising when it is considered that it has the 
whole drift of the Pacific upon it ; while, upon the other hand, 
the Fraser is perfectly sheltered from the sea by Vancouver 
Island. Indeed it is not uncommon to hear a settler of 
British Columbia, between which and Vancouver Island 
much rivalry exists, make the assertion that the sole use 
evidently intended by Nature for that island was to form a 
breakwater for the Fraser Eiver and the other inlets of the 
mainland. This is in fact so true, that although there is no 
little risk of a vessel grounding in going in or out of the 
river, there is little, if any, further risk ; and if she touches 
at low, or at anything but high water, as the ' Plumper ' did 
several times, the greatest hardship is a few hours' delay 
until the rising tide floats her off. Vessels ground constantly, 
sometimes from bad pilotage, and very often from the buoys 
having shifted with the sands, but they rarely if ever receive 
any damage ; while, on the Columbia, if a sailing vessel 
grounds she is almost certain to be lost ; and even a steamer 
touching is liable to be caught by the heavy sea and pooped, 
and very likely to be lost. 

A petition has been presented to the Governor by those 
interested in the navigation of the Fraser, to cause a buoy 
and light-vessel to be placed at the sand-head. When this 
is done, there will be no difficulty in entering the river ; but 
at present the most careful and experienced master of a ship 
is liable to be deceived by the buoys which get drifted from 
their places, either by the sands shifting or by the large trees 
which are constantly being borne down the river. The bad 
character which, owing to these causes, has attached to the 



Chap. V. SOURCE OF THE FRASER. 83 

entrance of the Fraser has been most detrimental to the in- 
terests of British Columbia. The underwriters affix as high a 
rate of insurance upon ships clearing for New Westminster as 
they do upon those bound up the Columbia. Having assisted 
in making the surveys of this coast, I hare no hesitation 
whatever in saying that I would as soon take a vessel over 
the Fraser Bar to New Westminster, as I would into Victoria, 
as far as risk of loss is concerned. 

Before describing those parts of the Fraser which I visited 
in detail, it will be well, perhaps, to give a genera] idea of 
this river and the country adjacent. 

The Fraser River rises in the Rocky Mountains, a little to 
the northward of the Athabasca Pass, and in a straight line 
less than 300 miles from its meeting with the waters of the 
Pacific in the Gulf of Georgia. From its source it takes a 
north-westerly direction for about 1U0 miles, when it is turned 
southward by a spur of the Rocky Mountains, which runs 
east and west nearly to Stuart Lake, where it turns northward 
and assumes the name of the Teak Mountains On the other 
side of this spur rises the Peace River, which from this point 
runs northward 130 or 140 miles till it meets the Finlay 
River, and thence flows eastward through the Rocky ^foun- 
tains. I hare called the reader's attention particularly to 
the Peace River, as it is towards it that the gold is now 
leading the miners, and in it and its tributaries that many 
expect the richest diggings will be found. This mountain- 
spur, as I have said, turns the Fraser sharply round to the 
south, and it then forces its way in torrents and rapids through 
the several great parallel valleys that intersect this region in 
a direction a little east of south for 300 miles, till it reaches 
Hope, from whence it runs nearly east and west for about 
80 miles to its mouth. 

About 45 miles below the upper turn of the river is Fort 
St. George. I said about 45 miles, for in this country the 
positions are as yet very roughly ascertained, and I take this 

g2 



84 THE FRASER AND NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY. Chap. V. 

opportunity of saying that all the distances I mention on the 
river are only approximate. 

Fort St. George, a Hudson Bay post, is situated on^the 
west bank of the Fraser Eiver at its junction with the Stuart 
Kiver, which latter flows in a like direction from Stuart 
Lake, which is the southern post of a chain of three or 
four lakes which stretch northward 100 miles to the head- 
waters of the Bear Eiver, at the foot of the Peak Moun- 
tains. At the head of the upper of these lakes stands Fort 
Connolly. 

Lying north-west from the head of Stuart Lake, and 
divided from it by a narrow ridge, is Babine Lake, on which 
there is another Hudson Bay Company's post, and from which 
rises the Simpson or Babine Kiver which thence flows westerly, 
running into the sea just above Fort Simpson, and as nearly 
as possible on our northern boundary on the coast. Forty 
miles up the Stuart Eiver it is met by a stream coming 
from Fraser Lake, which is a small lake thirty miles south - 
ward of Stuart Lake, and on which is situated Fraser 
Fort. The stream between the Fraser Lake and Stuart 
Eiver, which I believe has no English name, receives on 
its course the waters of the Natchuten Lakes and some 
others. I shall have again to speak of all these lakes and 
posts, and will now, therefore, pass on without further noticing 
them. 

Five-and-forty miles below St. George is the West-road 
Eiver, of no particular note at this time ; but better known to 
geographers than the other streams, from the fact of Sir 
Alexander McKenzie having in the end of the last century 
gone by it to the coast. 

Another distance of 45 miles brings us to Fort Alexandria, 
the head-quarters of the district for the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany, and better known than the other posts to the miners as 
being the nearest one to the Quesnelle and Cariboo diggings. 
What is now called the Cariboo country, so named from a 



Chap. V. THE FRASER AND NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY. 85 

species of deer found there in large numbers,* lies between 
the parallels of Alexandria and Fort St. George, and east of 
the Eraser Kiver. 

Cariboo Lake is 30 miles north-east of Alexandria, and 
from that point up to near Fort St. George, in the north, 
stretch the Cariboo diggings, with their various local names 
of Williams Creek, Antler Creek, Canon Creek, &c 

Nearly in the same latitude as Alexandria, and 30 miles 
east of it, are the Quesnelle Lakes, where gold was found and 
worked in considerable quantities in L859. There are two of 
these lakes, one running southward, the other east for some 
distance, and then north-east until it nearly meets the head- 
water- of Canoe River. The first of these lakes is estimated 
by those who have traversed them at 70 miles in length, the 
latter at 100. 

Thirty miles below Alexandria, on the east side of the 
Fraser, is a stream running in a south-westerly direction 
from several lakes, el' which the principal arc Williams Lake, 
Lac la JIache. Borse Lake, Lac Tranquille, &c. Twenty 
miles below this again, and consequently 50 from Alex- 
andria, is the Chilcot in River, which runs in a north-east-by- 
east direction to the lake of the same name, at the south end 
of which stand the remains of an abandoned Hudson Bay 
( 'cm | tany's- fort. 

Sixty miles below the mouth of the Chilcotin we come to the 
Pavilion, situated on the opposite or east bank of the river. 

From this point downwards I am enabled to describe 
the river from personal experience. At Hope, it assumes 
the character of a navigable stream, steamers of light draught 
reaching this point, and even Yale, 15 miles further up. 

In June, July, and August, the melting of the snow causes 
the river to rise so rapidly and makes the current so strong 
that it requires a very powerful steamer to stem it. It is 

* The name of this animal is properly Cerfbceuf, but the country is now 
always called and written Cariboo. 



8b THE FRASER AND NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY. Chap. V. 

during these months that numbers of large trees are brought 
down from its flooded banks, offering a serious obstruction to 
navigation, many of them ultimately fixing themselves in the 
stream and becoming " snags." Between Hope and Langley 
— the latter 30 miles from the river's mouth — there is always 
a current ranging from four to seven knots ; but at Langley 
the river becomes a broad, deep, and placid stream, and 
except during the three summer months (June, July, and 
August) the influence of the flood-stream is felt there. The 
current is not more than three knots and the depth of water 
ten fathoms, so that vessels of any draught may conveniently 
anchor. 

Vessels of from eighteen to twenty feet draught may enter 
the Fraser and proceed as high as Langley, or even a few 
miles above it, provided they have steam-power. 

The river is at its lowest stage during the months of 
January, February, and March. In April the snow com- 
mences to melt and the river to rise, which it does perhaps 
two feet in this month at Langley, the flood-stream at New 
Westminster being still strong enough to swing a ship. 

In May the waters rise rapidly, and continue to do so till 
the end of June, when they have reached their highest point. 
They remain so until the middle of August, with perhaps 
slight fluctuations. During these six weeks, the banks being 
overflowed, the meadows at the entrance, and the extensive 
plains on the banks of the Pitt Kiver above Langley, are 
covered for several miles, and ihe strength of the stream 
becomes four to seven knots, and in some places even more. 

The ordinary rise of the river at Langley is 14 feet; 
but when we were there Mr. Yale, who had been in charge 
of the post for 30 years without intermission, said he had 
known it rise 25 feet. Higher up the river, of course, 
the rise is much greater. In 1859, when I was at Pavilion, 
the river rose 18 feet in one night. 

After the middle of August the water begins to subside, 



;,gll 






:li* : :i|ll. 




-*y» 




• ',■»■■ 



^f:;. 



i;tl'v 











Chap. V. SITE OF NEW WESTMINSTER. 87 

and in September the stream is not inconveniently strong, 
September, October, and November are the most favourable 
months for the navigation of the river, as the water is then 
high enough to enable the steamers to reach Hope, and 
the current not very strong. Sometimes the steamers get to 
Hope as late as December, between which month and April 
the navigation of the river to Hope is almost closed on account 
of the snow and ice and the shallowness of the stream; 
but the lightest draught vessels occasionally get up, though 
with considerable difficulty. 

At Westminster the freshets raise the level of the river 
about six feet, but, as the hanks arc high, no inconvenience 
is felt. The strength of the stream there is rarely five knots, 
and in winter from two to three. 

The rise and fall due to tidal causes is from eight to ten 
feet, at the springs, between the Sandheads and Point Garry, 
the entrance of the river proper. At New Westminster it is 
six feet, and at Langley scarcely perceptible. The Sandheads 
are five miles south-south-west of Point ( -any ; the south one 
uncovers, the north does not. 

The banks of the Eraser, for some 70 miles from its 
mouth, are, as I have before said, in places Low, and liable to 
being flooded in the spring and summer. They are, how- 
ever, very fertile, and a great deal of fine hay grows 
naturally here, and is sent to Victoria for forage. At 
New Westminster, the present capital of British Columbia, 
the bank of the river rises and forms an admirable posi- 
tion for the future town. Mary Hill, upon which it is 
proposed some day to plant the citadel which shall defend 
New Westminster, rises some three or four hundred feet; 
and the camp, which lies at the distance of a mile east 
from the town itself, stands upon rising land fifty to a 
hundred feet above the river. As regards its position, 
therefore, there is no fault to be found with New West- 
minster ; but the forest is so dense, and the trees of which 



88 DIFFICULTY OF CLEAEING BUSH. Chap. V. 

it is composed so large, that its growth is likely for some 
years to be very slow. Indeed, had it not been for Colonel 
Moody's determination to make a beginning, and for the 
labours of the Engineers in clearing the site of their camp, 
New Westminster would have made little, if any perceptible 
progress. As it is, if, as seems most probable, the tide of 
colonization continues to flow northward, and a route to the 
mines should be discovered up and from the head of one of 
the numerous inlets north of the Fraser, New Westminster 
may never repay the labour that has already been spent 
upon it, Of the severity of that labour, no one unacquainted 
with the difficulty of clearing bush as it exists in British 
Columbia can form any accurate conception. Felling the 
trees forms but a small part of it. When they are down, 
they are, of course, with the scanty resources at the settlers' 
command, too large to be removed, and they have to be sawn 
and cut up into blocks handy for removal or burning. That 
done, the hardest work yet remains. In forests such as these 
the roots of the giant trees have been spreading underground 
for ages, forming a close and perfect network some eight or 
ten feet beneath the surface. To dig this mass of interlaced 
roots up would defy the strength and- patience of ordinary 
men ; and it is only the wonderful dexterity of the Canadian 
— and, indeed, of the American generally — in handling his 
axe, that enables him to enter upon, far less accomplish, so 
difficult a task. Their dexterity is indeed remarkable. I 
have seen three men — one of whom, by the way, had lost 
his right arm — fell a tree four feet in diameter in three- 
quarters of an hour. This may at first sight appear no very 
formidable feat ; but, after a few days' trial, the difficulties of 
such an undertaking will begin to loom upon the amateur 
backwoodsman. I remember, upon one occasion, that an 
officer of Marines quartered at Westminster, who thought 
himself, and who really was, no contemptible axeman, under- 
dertook for a wager to fell a certain tree, some three feet in 




CHURCH AT NEW "WESTMINSTER. 



Chap. V. NEW WESTMINSTER. 89 

diameter, in a week. He made certain of winning, and com- 
menced work in the most sanguine spirits. But the end of 
three days found liis hands blistered painfully, and the tree 
upright and almost uninjured as before. At the expiration 
of the stipulated time another week was given him, and still 
the monarch of the wood held his head erect. The story 
goes — this was, of course, after the bet was lost — that he was 
found one night turning 'out some of his men to take a sly 
chop at the tree after dark. 

Despite all these drawbacks, however, New Westminster 
has an unmistakeably thriving aspect. A church has been 
built, together with a treasury and a court-house. Its 
streets boast also of two or three very fair restaurants, some 
good wharves and stores, and several private houses. In the 
camp, the Engineers, who for some time lived under canvas, 
are all housed ; and commanding a very beautiful view up 
the river stands a very comfortable house, the residence o 1 " 
their commanding-officer, Colonel Moody. The view of the 
Fraser from the cam}) is very pleasing. On the left, over Pitt 
Lake, rise the beautiful peaks known as the Golden Ears ; 
to the right of these, the valley of the Fraser can be traced 
almost as far as Fort Hope ; while in the foreground, looking 
over the buildings of the rising town, level land stretches 
away into American territory beyond the boundary-line, as 
far almost as Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound. 

Three miles below the town of Westminster, a fork of the 
Fraser, unnavigable except for canoes and boats of light 
draught, diverges from the main channel and meets the sea 
some 6 or 7 miles above the main entrance of the river; 
and about the same distance above the town the Pitt Kiver 
flows into the Fraser. This river runs from a lake of the 
same name. Its banks are low, and a considerable quantity 
of good land well adapted for agricultural purposes lies 
on either side. Above, some 15 miles from Westminster, 



90 AMERICAN RIVER-STEAMERS. Chap. V. 

Langley is reached. Here the steamers from Victoria are 
stopped by the shallowness of the river, and their cargoes, 
human and material, transferred to the stern-wheel steamers, 
boats, and canoes which from this point do battle with the 
swift, uncertain stream. 

Stern-wheel steamers are peculiarly American. They are 
propelled by a large wheel protruding beyond the stern, the 
rudders — for there are generally two or three — being placed 
between it and the vessel's stern. They are admirably adapted 
to pass between snags and close to bluffs, where a side-wheel 
would be knocked away, and are affixed to flat-bottomed 
vessels drawing no more than eighteen to twenty-four inches 
of water. 

American steamboat travelling has frequently been de- 
scribed, and its peculiar characteristics and perils are doubtless 
familiar to most of my readers. There is something very ex- 
citing about it, certainly ; struggling up the river against the 
stream, the greatest risk comes from the overcharged boilers 
giving way; but tearing down the current at some twelve 
or fourteen knots an hour, bumping over shoals, striking 
against snags, and shooting rapids, is far more animated 
work. Snags, which form the most dangerous impediment to 
the navigation of rivers like the Fraser, are, as may be known 
to most of my readers, large trees which, having been carried 
down the steam to a shallow spot, become firmly embedded 
there. As a rule, they float down the river heavy end first, 
so that when they stick the upper part of the trunk opposes 
the stream and is worn by it to a sharp point, in many cases 
sufficiently below the surface to be hidden from the steers- 
man's eye. 

Going up against the current, therefore, at a comparatively 
slow pace, the steamer can afford to disregard the snags ; for 
if she strikes on one, it is easy to shut off the steam and drift 
back from it. But spinning down the current, it is a very 



Chap. V. AMERICAN RIVER-STEAMERS. 91 

serious matter for one of these large unwieldy boats to be- 
come transfixed upon a well-rooted, obstinate snag. In some 
spots of the Fraser an awkward snag may equally im- 
pede the navigation of a steamer up or clown the stream. 
One, known as the Umatilla Snag, from a steamer of 
that name having first struck upon it, lies in a very narrow 
and rapid bend of the river, at which, from the swiftness 
of the current, the steamer is very liable to be caught and 
drifted back upon it, after, as she imagined, having safely 
passed it. Upon one occasion, when I was going up the 
river in the 'Enterprise,' no less than three times after we 
had struggled past the snag the strong current caught and 
swung us broadside across the stream ; and it was only by 
running the vessel's bow into the muddy bank without a 
moment's hesitation, and holding her there by the nose, as 
it were, until she recovered breath to make another effort, 
that we escaped impalement. There was something very 
exciting in this struggle between the forces of steam and 
water. Each time, as we hung by the bank, the engineer 
might be heard below freshening his fires, and getting up 
as much steam as the boilers could, or might not, bear for 
the next effort. The wheel-house in these vessels is 
situated forward, so that there is almost direct communica- 
tion between it and the engine-room. By the helm stands 
the captain. " Ho ! Frank," he hails down the tube, " how 
much steam have you ? " " So many pounds," is Frank's 
reply. " Guess you must give her ten pounds more, or we 
shan't get past that infernal snag." And then more stoking 
is heard below, and the unpleasant feeling comes over the 
listener that the boilers lie just beneath his feet, and that, if 
anything should happen to them, there can be no doubt about 
his fate. But, presently, Frank's voice sounds again. " All 
ready, Cap'en : can't give her any more ! " The skipper 
loses no time ; " Stand by, then ! " is his response. Then, 
to the men forward, who have made a rope fast to some 



92 AMERICAN RIVER-STEAMERS. Chap. V. 

stump on the bank to keep the boat from dropping off, 
" Let go ! " and she falls off for a second or two ; her bow 
cants out a little : " ting ! ting ! ting ! " goes the engine-room 
bell, the signal for full speed ahead; every timber of the 
lightly-built vessel trembles. We watch the trees on the 
bank eagerly to see if she moves ahead. Presently she drops 
a little, but her head is still kept up ; then the stream 
catches her on one bow. " Stand by with the trip-pole ! " is 
heard, and, as she swings round, " Trip ! " is shouted from 
the wheel-house. Into the swift shallow water the heavy 
pole plunges, and perhaps she is brought up by it and run 
into the bank again ; or, as probably, if the bottom should be 
hard and rocky, or the water deeper than was thought, away 
she flies down the river until she is brought up against the 
bank or across the snag. 

The perseverance of the Yankee skipper in overcoming 
these difficulties is certainly remarkable. Upon one occasion, 
after making four unsuccessful efforts to steam past this 
" Umatilla Snag," all the men had to be landed and track her 
past the dangerous spot. So further up it was found necessary 
to resort to the same tedious process, and the united strength of 
crew and passengers with difficulty got her over a few hundred 
yards in the space of two hours, " Frank " below in his engine- 
room cramming on all the steam he could to help us. Nor 
is the composure with which the captain meets and remedies 
an accident less remarkable. A supply of tarred blankets is 
always kept handy for service, and if a hole is stove in the 
steamer's bottom, the captain coolly runs her ashore on the 
nearest convenient shoal, jams as many blankets into the 
crevice as seem necessary, nails down a few boards over them, 
and continues his journey composedly. He is often reduced 
to very serious straits, no doubt, and is not at all particular 
in the use of means to master a difficulty. I was assured 
by a passenger in the ' Enterprise ' to Hope in 1859, that 
he saw the contents of a cask of bacon turned on to the 



Chap. V. THE HARRISON-LILLOETT ROUTE. 93 

fires when additional steam to pass a troublesome rapid 
was necessary. 

A little above Langley the Smess River discharges its con- 
tents into the Fraser, and five or six miles onward it is fed 
by another stream of similar dimensions, called the Chilway- 
hook, on the southern bank of which are the remains of 
an old fishing-station of the Hudson Bay Company, now 
unused. Both these rivers flow from lakes bearing their 
names, and are in the summer-time, when swollen by the 
snow-freshets from the mountains, deep enough for good-sized 
boats to navigate them, but in the winter are almost impas- 
sable even for canoes. Three miles above Chilwayhook River 
Fargo Bar is reached. This, the spot on the Fraser where 
gold was first washed, has long since been deserted for the 
richer diggings higher up the river. All along this part of 
the Fraser the banks are low, and sandbanks occur constantly. 
In the winter the channel is confined to one single swift 
stream, but in the summer-time, when the waters are out, the 
navigator may well be bewildered by the numerous channels 
which sweep over and between the banks and islands. 

At a distance of 65 miles from the mouth of the Fraser 
the Harrison River is reached, up which runs the Harrison- 
Lilloett route, which has now become the principal road to 
the inland settlements. I have spoken of the difficulties 
which lay in the way of making this route practicable. A 
glance at the map will show that it consisted of a chain of 
lakes, some a considerable distance apart, between which 
a way had to be cut. The existence of this route had 
been known to the officers of the Hudson Bay Company for 
years ; but no effort had been made to render it available 
until 1858, when the rush of gold-seekers to the upper 
country made the opening of some way such an absolute 
necessity that the work was at once commenced. The scheme, 
which was by the time of my visit nearly accomplished, was 
to go by steamer up the Harrison River and Lake, a distance 



94 THE HARRISON-LILLOETT ROUTE. Chap. V. 

of about 45 miles, to Port Douglas, and from that place to 
cut a road to Port Lilloett, a station at the south end of the 
Lilloett Lake, and distant from Douglas some 32 miles. 
Along this part of the route, or " portage," as these trails 
are designated, over which material has to be transported 
from one sheet of water to another, the Lilloett Kiver, which 
runs by or near it, is found of considerable use. In the summer 
it is too rapid and dangerous even for canoe navigation ; but 
in the winter-time, when the waters have subsided, the Indians 
make their way up it, charging just one-third of the price 
required by the land-packers. From Lilloett the lake carried 
them as far as Pemberton, from which place another portage 
of some 22 miles brought them to the south-west end of 
Lake Anderson, which is almost connected with Seton, a lake 
of similar size, from the upper end of which the route to 
Lilloett, upon the Fraser, is only three or four miles, and 
comparatively easy. By this trail the dangers of the passage 
of the Fraser above Tale are avoided, and a distance of 
some 120 miles of the most perilous travelling saved. At the 
worst, when everything had to be carried from one piece 
of water to the other by Indians, with immense labour and 
at most extravagant rates of charge, it was far preferable to 
the river route. And now that a broad waggon-road has been 
laid between Douglas and Lilloett, which by the end of the 
year will be continued from Pemberton and Anderson, the 
task of getting up to the mines from the seacoast is rendered 
comparatively easy. 

The main engineering difficulties in constructing the Har- 
rison-Lilloett route lay at its commencement. The Harrison 
River, which flows for about five miles into the lake of the 
same name, is in one spot so shallow, that the steamers, when 
the water is low, have to land their cargoes on the bank, and 
boats inside the bar re-ship them for Port Douglas. Many 
plans were suggested to obviate this difficulty. Among others 
it was proposed to cut through the valley from the lake to 



Chap. V. THE HARRISON-LILLOETT ROUTE. 95 

the Fraser, thus making no use of the Harrison Kiver what- 
ever. It was at last, however, decided to make a canal through 
the flat, deepening it and walling it up with large baulks 
of timber. This task gave Captain Grant and a party of 
Engineers veiy moist occupation for two summers, and still I 
believe baffles their labours. 

Above the Harrison River the banks of the Fraser rise 
somewhat, and the stream sweeps more swiftly between 
clay cliffs, from 10 to 30 feet high. The navigation here 
becomes more and more difficult for steamers, and at times, 
when the river is swollen by the snow-freshets from the hills, 
they are altogether baffled. Between Hope and Yale they 
are at present stopped by some rocks, which almost meet in 
the channel : were these blasted away, steamers might reach 
the latter place ; but at that point, 85 miles from its mouth, 
the river, tearing between high, in some cases perpendicular 
banks, becomes impassable even for canoes. Steamers have 
occasionally reached Yale, but it is seldom attempted, and 
still more rarely accomplished. 

Hope is perhaps the prettiest town on the Fraser. Indeed 
until Cayoosh, or as it is now called Lilloett, is reached, there 
is no other settlement that will bear comparison with it. 
Behind it Ogilvie Peak rises abruptly to a height of 5000 feet : 
to the right stretches the valley of the Que-que-alla, through 
which the trail to the new gold districts in the Semilkameen 
country is cut ; while in the front the river glides, its channel 
divided by a beautiful little green island, the hills upon its 
opposite bank rising gradually to a considerable height, and 
forming a charming background to the prospect. High ex- 
pectations are entertained of Hope by its settlers; and 
indeed, since the discovery of gold in Rock Creek and the 
Semilkameen Valley, for both which districts Hope must 
serve as the emporium, there is a probability that they may 
be, in some degree at least, realised, though at present, all 
traffic being directed to Cariboo, it is not thriving. 



96 THE HAREISON-LTLLOETT ROUTE. Chap. V. 

Yale, 15 miles above Fort Hope, lies at the entrance of 
the Lower or Little Canon, and is consequently the head of 
canoe or boat, as Hope is of steam, navigation. As I have 
before said, the only obstacle presented to steam-navigation 
between these two stations lies in some rocks, which almost 
meet in the channel of the river off Strawberry Island, some 
six or eight miles below Yale. There would be no great diffi- 
culty in removing these, and I believe that at one time the 
Governor did invite tenders for the work ; but the scheme 
was wisely, aud I should hope for some time to come, if not 
finally, given up. The only benefit which would accrue to 
the colony would be shifting at a great expense the head 
of steam-navigation some 15 miles higher up the river, and 
thereby supplying provisions to the bars between Yale and 
Lilloett a few cents cheaper than at present. 

There is nothing calling for any notice in Yale. It 
was selected by the Hudson Bay Company as a convenient 
resting-place before commencing the arduous ascent of the 
Canons, and where, having come down, they might dry the 
furs and skins that had got wet in the passage. It is chiefly 
useful now as a port for shipping and unloading materials 
from and to the mines, and is besides enriched by the diggers 
from Hill's and other bars in its vicinity, who come hither on 
Sundays and holidays and spend a great deal of their money. 
The site of the town is itself auriferous, and all the front part 
of it has been washed. 

At Yale my work in reality commenced, and several days 
were passed discussing with those who were most likely to be 
well informed upon the subject the best route I should take, 
and making preparations for it. These were at last com- 
pleted, and on the afternoon of the 2nd of May we — that is, 
Dr. Campbell and myself, with a party of nine Indians — were 
ready to start to ascend the banks of the Fraser to Lytton. 
While talking the matter over, several highly cheering ac- 
counts of the perils of the way had been volunteered by some 



Chap. V. THE HAIUUSOX-LILLOETT ROUTE. 97 

officials, who had been there recently collecting the licence- 
fees. They agreed in describing the dangers of the Canons 
and Jackass Pass, through which our route lay, as really great, 
and one of them, who had not been up, said quite seriously 
that he should hesitate to undertake the journey for a thousand 
pounds. These canons, of which there are two between Yale 
and Lytton, are narrow passes, through which the river forces 
its way between steep, in some cases perpendicular, banks, 
from three or four hundred to a thousand feet high. 

The journey between Yale and Lytton occupied five days ; 
but as I think it scarcely possessed sufficient interest to carry 
the reader over it step by step, it will be better perhaps to 
give him a general idea of our mode of travelling and the 
country through which we passed. It had been intended at 
Yale that I should be supplied with a white man who knew 
the country, as interpreter ; but upon its being proposed to 
him, he declined to accompany me, having mining plans of 
his own, and I was therefore obliged to be content with an 
Indian who spoke French, not, of course, of the purest. It is 
by no means uncommon to find natives in the interior of the 
country possessing a useful knowledge of French. It was the 
language spoken by far the larger number of the Canadian 
voyageurs who first came across the mountains in the service 
of the Hudson Bay Company, and indeed their trade at their 
inland posts is mostly carried on in French. 

An Indian lias a great objection to travelling without a com- 
panion of his own tribe, and consequently after Mr. Ogilvy. 
the Hudson Bay Company's officer at Fort Hope, had suc- 
ceeded in obtaining for me the services of Tom (by winch 
name my interpreter was known), I found myself compelled 
to engage a friend to accompany him. The inconvenience 
of this arrangement was subsequently felt to be very great ; 
for Tom falling ill at Fort Kamloops, his friend, who by that 
time had become valuable to us, persistently declined to leave 
him, although of course I in my turn refused to pay him if 



98 EQUIPMENT DESCRIBED. Chap. V. 

he remained. A few words here as to our personal equipment 
may be permitted. For trips such as these I always wore a 
shooting-jacket with as many pockets as possible; strong 
corduroy trowsers, tied under the knee after the fashion of 
English navvies, to take the drag off it when they are wet ; 
and an old uniform cap, which I always found had a capital 
effect upon Indians, inspiring them with an idea of the 
wearer's exalted position as a " Hyas Tyee," or great chief. 
Slung over my shoulder I carried an aneroid, which, with a 
spy-glass, completed my equipment. Dr. Campbell carried 
the gun on this occasion, as I had a chronometer in my pocket, 
which it was of the greatest importance not to disturb, and I 
therefore did not shoot. My spare things, packed in a small 
valise, consisted of a clean flannel shirt, six or eight pairs 
of socks, a Hudson's Bay capot (a sort of blue frock-coat, made 
with a hood to it) — upon the cuffs of which a lieutenant's gold 
lace was put to add to the effect, and which was worn before 
the natives upon all particularly important occasions — and a 
coat and trousers made of blue blanket, which I put on as soon 
as we camped at night, and in which I always slept. As to 
provisions, all we ever carried was a side or two of bacon, 
four or five bags of flour — the quantity depending upon the 
time that was likely to elapse before fresh stores could be 
reached — plenty of tea and coffee, and a bottle of brandy 
in case of accidents. Our fare upon occasions like this 
consisted almost exclusively of bacon and dampers, with 
tea and coffee. Xow and then we might be lucky enough to 
shoot a grouse ; but this happened rarely, as when you are 
travelling with an object, time cannot be given to going out 
of the way to hunt up game. Dampers, although well known 
to colonists in new countries, are, I may explain for the benefit 
of my English readers, cakes of dough rolled out to the size 
of a plate, and one or two inches thick. They are cooked 
either by being baked in the wood-ashes of the fire, or fried 
in the pan with bacon fat. 



Chap. V. EQUIPMENT DESCRIBED. 99 

Besides the things already enumerated, I had to carry a 
sextant and an artificial horizon for getting observations for 
latitude and longitude. Upon these things being packed, 
they were found to amount to so considerable a weight and 
bulk, that nine Indians were required to carry them. These 
were engaged at two dollars (or 8s. 4d) a-day, which, with 
their food, was the lowest price at which the Indians would 
work in those parts. The things were then divided into 
bundles or packs, as they are called, of as even weight as 
possible, giving some 50 or 60 lbs. to each man. Arranging 
these packs is a matter of no little difficulty, for the Indian 
has a great objection to altering his load after he has once 
started, so that you have to give the men carrying the pro- 
visions, which grow lighter daily, a heavier load at starting 
than those who have the canteen or the tent to carry. The 
majority of these Indian porters have now adopted the dress 
of Europeans, and turn out for the journey in trowsers and 
shirt, usually carrying an old coat of some sort, which they 
are careful to put on upon nearing a town. I have known 
them to be absurdly particular about this ceremony. I once 
journeyed with half-a-dozen Indians, each one of whom posi- 
tively carried a suit of clothes in a bundle on his back for more 
than three weeks, to have the gratification of wearing them at 
Tort Douglas. When we were within a mile or so of the place 
the party halted, untied their bundles, donned their clothes, and 
painting their faces bright red, filed into the town with dig- 
nified gravity. Shoes are the one article of European attire 
which they do not take kindly to wearing, although they 
always ask for a pair at starting, which, too, they carry in the 
pack upon their backs. They either travel barefoot or in 
mocassins, which are not the pretty things embroidered with 
beads which one sees in pictures, but a plain piece of deer- 
skin, laced round the foot with a strip of the same material. 
I have known occasions when an elk has been killed by 
me, and within a quarter of an hour after its death all the 

h2 



100 INDIAN GUIDES. Chap. V. 

meat has been slung at their backs and its skin been laced 
upon their feet. 

Previous to beginning a journey with Indians, they always 
look for- a present. Indeed it would be difficult, if not impos- 
sible, to get them to start without this ceremony being gone 
through. It is not a very serious tax, all that is expected 
being that you should give them a " cultus-patalatch " (lite- 
rally, a useless present).* Tobacco is often selected for this 
purpose, and it is generally advisable, if their squaws are 
present, to remember them, as this will do more than anything 
else towards starting them. The Indians, too, are always 
pleased at having a clay pipe given to each on starting, even 
if it is never used. Smoking, by the way, has a curious effect 
upon them. As a rule, although they soon learn to smoke as 
we do, they begin by inhaling it, swallowing enough in a 
few minutes thoroughly to intoxicate them. I have seen one 
pipe passed from one to the other of the party suffice to bring 
them all into tins condition. The effect does not last long, 
and in a quarter of an hour they wake up from their drunken 
dose, looking and no doubt feeling very much the worse 
for it. 

The daily routine of life upon the march varies little. 
About five in the morning we rose and got under way as 
quickly as possible. I used to indulge in a cup of coffee 
before starting, but experience soon taught me that it was 
better to make only two good meals a-day; between ten 
o'clock and noon, therefore, we halted for breakfast. For 
this meal we only unloaded what was absolutely necessary, 
and did not pitch the tent. A likely spot was selected near 
a stream and if possible under some shady trees, a fire was lit, 
and the cooks were soon busy kneading the dampers and boiling 
the tea. While this was going on — for after the first day we 
were glad to leave the cooking with the Indians — I used to get 

* " Cultus-patalatch " means more correctly a present for which nothing is 
expected in return. 



Chap. V. CAMP-LIFE. 101 

out my sextant to be ready for the meridian altitude of the 
sun at noon, and, if our halt were sufficiently early, get a set of 
a.m. sights first. By the time I had done this, breakfast was 
ready, and our appetites being freshened with a six hours' 
walk, dampers of the consistency of saddle-leather disappeared 
as if they had been puff-paste. After breakfast we would 
start again, holding on steadily until evening, when the most 
convenient camping-place was selected for the night's rest. 
The Indians in walking are accustomed to stop for some five 
minutes' rest every half-hour, and this they do with surprising 
regularity. They generally squat down near a ledge of rock, 
on which they can rest their burdens without removing them. 
They carry everything in the same way, viz., with a band 
over the forehead, the pack resting on their shoulder-blades, 
or a little below. 

When a halt was called for the night, the Indians divided 
the labours of camping. The cook, who was sometimes the 
same throughout the journey, collected small wood, and made 
the lire ; upon his way he had very likely picked up pieces of 
charred wood, to assist him in this operation ; another cut 
larger logs, for use during the night ; the head man pitched 
our tent, while another gathered a quantity of fir-boughs, on 
which we should sleep ; others fetched water ; and if any deer- 
tracks had been seen, or it was thought game might be found 
in the neighbourhood, one took a musket, and went in search of 
it, generally, I must say, with little success. As a rule, Indians 
make very bad shots. They never think of shooting a bird on 
the wing, and only bring down deer by hiding near a river, 
to which they know the animals will come at nightfall to 
water. When these preparations have been effected, and 
while the dampers are cooking, the Indians are, perhaps, 
making themselves drunk upon tobacco, which does not, 
however, at all affect their appetite, or are busy making 
spoons for their repast. It is not at all uncommon for them, 
if they have leisure, to spend it in making a set of bark 



102 CAMP-LIFE. Chap. V, 

spoons for supper. This they do in a very ingenious manner, 
cutting a strip of bark some three or four inches, and splitting 
it half-way down ; then bending back the slit portion at right 
angles to the other, and tying them with fibres of the same 
material. It is an operation that must be seen to be tho- 
roughly understood, but they do it with considerable dexte- 
rity, and the task of allotting the spoons when made among 
the party, according to the size of each mouth, leads to very 
great merriment. Stolid as Indians appear in their villages, 
upon a cruise of this sort I have always found them in high 
spirits, and they would discuss the adventures and mishaps of 
the day's journey with great animation, frequently referring 
to me to settle any vexed question that might arise. They are 
very quick, too, at noticing any breach of their own code of 
manners, and are unsparing in their raillery of the offender. 
Gluttony particularly excites their ridicule. I remember on 
one occasion an individual of my party happened to be a 
great eater, and the others scarcely gave him any rest what- 
ever, explaining to me that he deserved it, being "carqua 
cushon" (like a pig). Another of their comrades happened 
to be a very good-looking fellow, and, although I believe he 
was secretly respected for it, he had to endure a great deal of 
raillery upon his reported successes with the fair sex. Indians 
appreciate nothing more highly than physical prowess ; and a 
good warrior or hunter needs no other recommendation to be 
admired and envied — the words are synonymous there as 
elsewhere — by both the men and women of his tribe ; and 
these qualities my friend the lady-killer possessed in such 
a marked degree, as to make his companions' raillery so sub- 
dued in its tone as to be almost flattering. In travelling 
with Indians, should the Englishman be anything of a 
sportsman, he will find it easy to secure the respect of his 
guides and packers. Shooting a bird or two on the wing, or 
bringing down a deer running, will raise him high in their 
estimation ; and he may secure it beyond a doubt by walking 



Chap. V. CAMP-LIFE. 103 

them well off their legs on the first day's journey. They will 
not bear him the least ill-will, and they respect him ever 
after. 

Now that I am on the subject of Indian manners, I 
may mention a strange vanity of their young men who aim 
at gaining reputation as great hunters or warriors. Tins is 
their fashion of scoring their legs, under the impression that 
it gives them strength and endurance, and renders them 
impervious to cold. The limb is deeply cut in circular 
fashion, from the hip to the knee, making it look not unlike 
fish crimped for cooking. These indentations are very deep, 
and can, of course, only he made gradually, oik- wound having 
to heal before another is inflicted, so that a man is generally 
twenty-live or twenty-six years old before the process is com- 
pleted. Some such fashion is not uncommon among other 
savage tribes. The natives of Bforeton Bay, in Queensland, 
for instance, are in the habit of cutting their bodies deeply 
round from the shoulder to the waist, tilling up the gash with 
dirt, so that, when it heals, the scar projects like a large rope 
or wheal tied round their bodii 

I have strayed, however, from our camp-fire, although 
not so far, perhaps, as our thoughts wander sitting by it, 
with night closing in. While the Indians laugh and talk, 
or busy themselves mending their garments and patching 
their mocassins, turning and twisting them about in every 
direction to find a sound part to serve as a sole to protect the 
foot for the next day's journey over the rocky trails, a pipe is 
smoked, the notes of the day discussed and transferred to the 
field-book, to-morrow's work talked over, and then to bed — 
my companion and myself in the tent, the Indians grouped 
about the fire. I have said that I always slept in a blanket 
suit, and I recommend this precaution to travellers emphati- 
cally. However hot the day may have been, the night in 
British Columbia, even in the months of summer, is always 
fresh and cold. Cold as it may be, however, the Indian 



104 CANONS ON THE UPPER FRASER. Chap. V. 

invariably strips to sleep, and lies with his blanket wrapped 
about him, feet in towards the fire. Even when camped in 
snow, I have observed they always take off their clothes. 

Fort Yale is situated on the left bank of the Fraser, at the 
entrance to the Little Canon. The banks of the canon are so 
perpendicular that the traveller is obliged to leave the river's 
side to pass it, unless the water is very low indeed, when 
there is a narrow trail at the bottom of the cliff. The trail 
commonly used, and which is now made into what would be 
a very fair mule-road, save for the snow, which blocks it up 
for seven or eight months of every year, leads up a consider- 
able height, and through a gorge between two mountains, 
coming down on the river again between the two canons, 
about five or six miles above Yale. As we did not start until 
after noon, it took us till camping-time to pass the canon, 
and we pitched our first camp when we came again upon 
the river. Next day we passed the Upper, or Big Canon, 
which is six or eight miles long. Before entering we had 
a magnificent view up it, and very striking and wonderful 
it was. 

These canons, pronounced by all the miners canyons, are 
narrow passes, where the steep, almost perpendicular moun- 
tains, close in upon the stream. Overhead the rocks near each 
other, in some places almost meeting ; so that from below a mere 
irregular thread of light is seen. The surface of the river is 
uneven, and the fall so great, that here and there cascades are 
formed, over which the stream rolls with fearful rapidity. 
In the summer time it sometimes tears along at the rate 
of 20 miles an hour, and when I was there it was flowing 
15 or 16, as I ascertained by experiment. In winter, when 
the stream is at its lowest, they are navigable for canoes 
and boats, but this is always attended with considerable 
danger, and many lives have been lost in them. timers, 
however, dare anything ; and when Governor Douglas 
was at Fort Yale, in 1859, he saw a man who had actually 



Chap. V. CANONS ON THE UPPER FRASER. 105 

come down through the canons lashed on to a large log of 
timber! 

As I have said, the view before entering the Upper Canon 
is grand. Looking up between the precipitous cliffs, the 
water is seen rushing through them at fearful speed. 1 
hardly know which was more grand, the view from this spot 
or that further on, as we got well into the canon, in 
which in some places the trail led up crags so steep that 
we had to clamber up them with our hands and feet, 
until we arrived breathless at the top of a projecting ledge, 
on which we were glad to halt a few minutes, to draw 
breath and gaze with wonder on the scene. Before and 
behind, peak alter peak rose 1000 or more feet above us, 
although we were probably 600 or 800 feet above the river, 
each more ragged, bold, and grand than the other; while be- 
neath, the river, white with foam, whirled along, gurgling and 
eddying, its wild reverberations continued in endless echoes. 
Grand as the scene was, watching it, my brain grew dizzy, 
and I was glad to turn away and continue my journey, fearful 
lest, if I looked longer, thai strange desire which creeps over 
you to spring into the boiling torrent should become too 
strong for further resistance. At the present day the trail — 
which is the name given in the country lor any sort of path — is 
so improved that I believe mules travel by it without difficulty 
when the snow is not on the ground. I should be very sorry, 
therefore, to say anything disheartening to the intending 
settler, although I may add that anyone who would be dis- 
couraged by difficulties such as these had better not visit 
British Columbia. At the time I speak of there were three 
trails, though they were not entirely separate. The first of 
these, the Mule-trail, was completely blocked up by snow ; it 
is hardly ever open till June. The others were known as the 
" Lower " and " Upper " Caiion trails. The lower trail could 
only be passed when the water was low, at which time there is 
a ledge of boulders along the bottom of the cliff, over which 



106 CANONS ON THE UPPER FRASER. Chap. V. 

a rough path was carried. The upper trail passed along from 
ledge to ledge, at a height ranging from 50 to 800 feet above 
the river. We went partly along each of these trails. When 
we could we kept the lower, but constantly, on coming to some 
bluff of rock jutting out into the river, we had to scramble up 
into the upper trail to pass it. The mode of rounding these 
cliffs, which literally overhang the river, is peculiar, and 
makes one's nerves twitch a little at first. There are two or 
three of them, the trail coming up to them on one side, and 
continuing again on the other. The difficulty, of course, was 
to pass the intervening space. This was managed by the 
Indians thus: they suspended three poles by native rope, 
made of deer-hide and fibre, from the top of the cliff, the 
inner end of the first and third resting on the trail, and the 
middle one crossing them on the front of the bluff. Of course 
there was nothing to lay hold of, and the only way was for the 
traveller to stretch out his arms and clasp the rock as much as 
possible, keeping his face close against it ; if he got dizzy, or 
made a false step, the pole would, of course, swing away, and 
he would topple over into the torrent, which rolled hundreds 
of feet beneath. The land-slips in the mountain crevices 
are also very dangerous. Several times we had to make an 
ascent of about 200 feet up a land-slip, at an angle of quite 
35°, in loose sand, and with nothing to check our downward 
progress if the sand should slip quicker than we could 
scramble over. The most dangerous of these, which we 
did not pass till the third day, but which I may as well 
mention while upon the subject, is called the Jackass Moun- 
tain. Several people have lost their lives in crossing this, 
and on one occasion a mule, which some miners tried to get 
across it, was, I believe, with his driver, precipitated into the 
river; which circumstance may, perhaps, account for the 
name of the mountain. 

This mountain rises abruptly out of the river, and the old 
trail leads across the face of it. To pass it several land-slips, 



Chap. V. CANONS ON THE UPPER FRASER. 107 

of twenty or thirty yards wide, and at an angle of about 50°, 
had to be crossed. To do this the traveller had to make 
a bolt from the rocky ledge on one side to that on the other ; 
and if he chanced to get dizzy, or the land slipped away with 
him, he must inevitably be lost. My companion had here 
a most merciful escape. He got dizzy, and slipped, but had 
got so far across that he was just able to grasp a root above 
his bead, and thus save his life. I had just crossed, and was 
watching him, when I saw him turn pale and slip. It was 
all the work of B second, however, and before I could move 
he was hanging on to the root. 

The following extract from the Journal of the Bishop of 
Columbia, when travelling over the same ground, will prove 
that my description is not exaggerated: — "We continued 

the ascent for some distance. Impassable, indeed, much of 
it was for horses and mules, and even for man not without 
danger. We must have been at the height of 2500 or 3000 

feet; our pathway lay along the edge of a perpendicular fall 
of such a height, sometimes along beds of loose rock, and 
most warily must the feet step from stone to stone ; a slip 
would either precipitate to the abyss below, or cast you 
among the rocks, where a limb might easily be broken. At 
other times in the descent the path was nil, the projections 
for the foot not an inch ; it seemed like the crawling of a fly 
upon the perpendicular wall. Tins sort of work lasted for 
hours. It was, however, so absorbing, and required the 
utmost constant stretch of attention for self-preservation, 
that the time passed more rapidly than one would have 
thought. At the time the critical character of this operation 
was such that, though near together, no one spoke ; there 
was a solemnity, as if we realised hanging between life and 
death. Frequently we had to crawl upon hands and knees. 
It was quite wonderful to see the Indians, with their heavy 
loads, pass along; one of ours did fall, however, once. We 
came occasionally to mountain torrents, bringing down the 



108 PROPOSED NEW ROUTE. Chap. V. 

cool water from the snowy height. At one time we slaked 
our thirst from the snow itself. At length we had gone over 
the worst of the Lake Mountain ; the Fraser was again spread 
out before us; the smoke in the distance pointed out the 
dwellings upon Boston Bar." 

Fifteen miles above Yale is Spuzzum, an Indian village, 
where there is a ferry, and here the mule-trail leads across 
to the east bank of the river, which from this point runs 
nearly north and south. The foot trail, the best in winter, 
keeps along the west bank to Island Bar, which is opposite 
to Boston Bar, and forty miles above Yale. Boston Bar is 
at the mouth of the Anderson or Coquiome River, and it is 
to this Bar that the people of Fort Hope wish to have a direct 
road made, which, I believe, has since been begun, cutting 
off the small elbow which the river makes, and avoiding Yale 
and the canons altogether. This will very likely become a 
valuable route for the Lytton and Thompson River country, 
but not for that which is attracting the greatest notice now — 
viz. the Cariboo. The Anderson Biver is a considerable one, 
and, after running in a short distance, it divides into two 
branches, one trending northward till it nearly meets one of 
the tributaries of Nicola River, and the other running south- 
ward and almost joining the north branch of the Que-que-alla 
coming up from Hope. It is along the banks of these 
streams that the Hope and Boston Bar trail passes. 

At Boston Bar the Fraser Yalley opens out a little, and 
between it and Lytton several flats occur, which will some 
day, no doubt, be converted into pretty little farms. The 
largest of these, which is five miles above Boston Bar, was 
already fenced in when I was there, and had a hut built on it. 
These flats, or benches as they are called in this country, 
are found generally at the bends of the river, and are 
raised some fifty or sixty feet above it. They occur much 
more frequently on the Thompson and Nicola Rivers, and 
higher up the Fraser, than here. They are all covered 



Chap. V. LYTTON. 109 

with the long sweet grass of which cattle and horses are 
so fond, and which has so wonderful an effect in fattening 
them. I have seen horses on Vancouver Island, where the 
same grass grows, which have been turned out in the autumn, 
brought in in April in splendid condition, and as fresh as if 
they had been most carefully treated all the time. This is, 
indeed, the common custom with the island horses, and T 
remember one of the oldest and best farmers there Baying 
that the only horses he had ever lost were killed by being 
taken too much care of, and kept in all the winter. Jackass 
Mountain is ten or twelve miles above Boston Bar, and when 
it was crossed all dangers were past, and we trudged on 
easily, reaching Lytton two days after we passed Boston 
Bar, and five days from the time we left Yale. 

The whole way from Yale to Lytton, which is 60 miles, 
the geological formation of the country is the same, and we 
1 between steep trappean and granitic mountains 2000 
to 3000 feet high, the distance across the river from peak to 
peak not averaging more than a mile. There is very little 
land fit for cultivation, except, as 1 have said, on some of those 
benches which are found on all the rivers of this country, 
and which point out the higher level their streams once occu- 
pied, and the subsequent upheaval of the whole country. 

Lytton, at the time I saw it, consisted of an irregular row 
of some dozen wooden huts, a drinking saloon, an express 
office, a large court-house — as yet unfinished — and two little 
buildings near the river, which had once belonged to the 
Hudson Bay Company, but which were now inhabited by 
the district magistrate. This gentleman happened to be 
absent from Lytton, but I found his constable, and at once 
took up my quarters in the courthouse. Next day, thinking 
we should find it preferable, we pitched our tent without; 
but the clouds of dust which swept over Lytton continuously 
soon made us glad to seek its shelter again. 

Whilst here I determined, instead of making our way 



110 START FOR KAMLOOPS. Chap. Y. 

direct to Lilloett, to diverge by the way of the Nicola River 
and Lake to Fort Kamloops or Thompson, situate some 90 miles 
up the Thompson River. Seven of our Indian escort, when they 
heard of my purpose, refused to accompany us to Kamloops, 
unless I would promise them to return from that place direct 
— a programme I had no intention of following. Tom and 
his friend, however, stuck to us ; and I found an Indian who 
owned two horses, and who undertook the transport of our 
packages, by this time, of course, considerably reduced in 
weight and bulk. As it proved, we were most fortunate in 
this arrangement, for without horses we should have found it 
impossible to ford the Nicola, and must inevitably have been 
turned back on reaching that river. Pleased enough to leave 
the dust and wind of Lytton, our little party started for 
Kamloops, 



Chap. VI. ASPECT OF THE COUKTRY. 11] 



CHAPTER VI. 



Journey continued — Kamloops — Life of the Hudson Bay Employes — Indian 
Chief, St. Paul — Pavilion — The Harrison-Liliuett Route. 

For about nine miles our course lay along the south bank 
of the Thompson, close by the water's edge. The scenery of 
the river resembled that of such parts of the Fraser where 
the trail lay along its shore — a shelving bank of large 
boulders, covered in the summer with water. Coming to 
the Xicowameen River, — where, it is said, gold was first found 
in British Columbia by an Indian who, stooping to drink, saw 
a rich nugget glittering in the water, which lie carried to Mr. 
McLean, the officer in charge of Fort Kamloops, — we turned 
oil', and, crossing a mountain on our right, found ourselves in 
a long, narrow valley, in which I saw the first land I had 
as yet found that seemed unmi stake ably fit for agricultural 
purposes. From this time all the way to Kamloops the 
aspect of the country had completely changed from that of 
the Fraser below Ly tton ; and we passed through a succession 
of valleys sufficiently clear of timber to make settling easy, 
yet with enough for building purposes, well watered, and 
covered with a long, sweet grass. There are no prairies in 
British Columbia, but it consists of what is called rolling 
country — that is, long valleys from one to three or four 
miles wide, divided one from the other by mountain ridges. 
Through the centre of these runs usually a river, and in some 
cases may be seen a chain of small lakes. In summer, when 
the water is high, streams and lakes meet, and the valleys 
become sheets of water, dotted with large islands. At such 
a time it is very curious to see the same river flowing diverse 



112 ASPECT OF THE COUNTKY. Chap. VI. 

ways, as you may at almost all the watersheds or turning- 
points of the water. 

After passing along the first of these valleys, in which 
many trees had been felled, and two log-huts erected, most 
probably for the sake of claiming pre-emption, we passed 
through a gorge of the mountains, and came out in view of 
the. Nicola Eiver, flowing some 600 or 800 feet below us. 
The view from this spot was one of the most lovely I ever 
saw in British Columbia. It was a fine, clear May day. 
The sun shone brightly, giving a warmth and freshness 
to the hill-side, which sloped to the water's edge, not 
in craggy, precipitous masses like those of the canons on 
the Eraser Eiver, but clothed with long, soft grass, and 
bright with the numberless wild flowers which grow so 
luxuriantly in this country. Unlike them, too, instead of 
terminating abruptly at the water's edge, they sloped down 
to it in plateaux a mile or so in breadth, terminating some- 
times in steep, perpendicular banks, but as often sweeping 
down gradually to a neutral ground of reeds and swamp, yet 
always vying with the hill-sides in fertility, and luxuriance. 
Between these banks the Mcola coursed with great rapidity, 
leaping over the many rocks which check its progress, and 
sweeping round the numerous small islets that dot its 
surface. 

It is very difficult to impress the reader with the 
beauty of the view on which we stood gazing, unwilling to 
tear ourselves from it. As yet we had seen nothing at all 
equal to it in British Columbia. The shores of the coast 
are lined with dense, almost impenetrable forests, while the 
Fraser cuts its way through steep and rugged mountains. 
It is true that between Forts Langley and Hope there is 
some level land on either side of the river, but even there you 
see a mountain barrier rise in the near horizon, and feel sure 
that it must be scaled before rich fertile land like this can 
be reached. 



Chap. VI. NICOLA RIVER. 113 

It was about three in the afternoon when we reached the 
Nicola River. Coming to where it should be forded, we found 
that we had to pay a heavy price for the sunny weather that 
had seemed so welcome, but which had melted so much snow 
among the mountains, as to swell the river and make it nearly 
impassable. However, it must be crossed somehow ; and now 
we found the advantage of having horses with us. Remov- 
ing their loads, two of the Indians swam the horses across. 
So swift was the swollen stream, that, although it could 
not have been more than 100 yards wide, they were swept 
at least half-a-mile down the river before they could gain 
a footing on the opposite shore. Next we crossed, only 
getting over one at a time, as the other had to swim the 
horses back ; and lastly the baggage was taken over. It was 
rather a lengthy process, and by the time it was all done night 
was setting in, and it was time to camp. 

Next morning we followed the course of the Nicola River, 
until, during the second day, we came up with the Lake. 
Here for the first time I saw mounted Indians of the interior. 
They were as yet uncontaminated by intercourse with white 
men : indeed all they had ever seen were the people of the 
Hudson Bay Company stationed at Fort Kamloops. When 
we camped overnight, I had no idea that we were in the 
close proximity of Indians, and upon waking in the morning 
I was not a little surprised to see an old Indian on horseback 
looking into the tent. Tom at once introduced him as No- 
as-is-ticun, the chief of the Skowtous tribe, and a connection 
of his own, and very soon a large number came riding up to 
our encampment, all fairly mounted on light yet fleet horses. 
My new friend with the long name was very friendly and 
sent one of his men to his hut for a grouse, which he pre- 
sented to us for breakfast, and which Dr. Campbell and 
I ate with no little relish. It was one of the willow-grouse, 
which is found commonly both in Vancouver Island and on 
the mainland. 



114 NICOLA LAKE. Chap. VI. 

Coming out of the tent — (it was quite dark when we had 
camped the night before) — I found that we were upon rising 
ground, with a river flowing beneath us, and that beyond a 
wide valley of undulating land extended for several miles, 
which was dotted with Indian villages, the smoke of whose 
fires was rising into the clear air, while over it we could see 
Indian horsemen galloping about in various directions. The 
old chief informed me that these were the homes of his tribe, 
the Skowtous, and that his domain- extended as far as the 
Thompson Kiver, which divided him from the Shuswap Indians. 

Upon my telling him whither I was going, the chief at once 
expressed a desire to accompany us through his territory, and 
offered us horses for the journey. These, for several reasons, 
we declined ; but we accepted the offer of his company, and in 
a little while he joined us with a staff of eight or ten of his 
tribe, all well mounted. Passing through another fine valley 
about ten o'clock, we came to the Nicola Lake. This lake 
is about fourteen miles long by one to two wide, and lies 
nearly north and south. Its Indian name is " Smee-haat- 
loo," but it has long been called the Nicola, after an old chief 
of the Shuswap Indians. Its banks are low, except in one 
place on the west side, where a perpendicular granitic cliff 
barred our progress and compelled the horsemen of our party 
to take a considerable detour to avoid it. Upon the west 
side of the lake the mountains approach it closely ; but on 
the east, northward of a mountain about 2000 feet high, 
called by the natives Wha-hat-challoo (Otter) Mountain, two 
rivers run into it from large valleys, in which there appeal's 
to be, and according to my native friend there is, some very 
good land. These rivers are called respectively M 'Don aid 
and Bodinion. 

A small chain of lakes or ponds stretches eastward from 
the Nicola in an almost unbroken line to the Thompson 
River. Passing these, we ascended the side of a mountain 
called by the natives Skye-ta-ken, upon the summit of which 



Chap. VI. KAMLOOPS. 115 

we were, as nearly as I could estimate, 3600 feet above 
the sea. The view from hence was very extensive and 
beautiful, ranging as far as the Semilkameen Valley and the 
Shuswap Lake, and disclosing a fine tract of grass land which 
will some day become a noble grazing country. Descend- 
ing the mountain-side, we crossed a succession of low grassy 
hills, coming in time to the Thompson River. 

It was about 8 o'clock in the morning when we came 
here, and found ourselves in sight of Kamloops. The view 
from where we stood was very beautiful. A hundred feet 
below us the Thompson, some 300 yards in width, flowed 
leisurely past us. Opposite, running directly towards us and 
meeting the larger river nearly at right angles, was the North 
River, at its junction with the Thompson wider even than 
that stream ; and between them stretched a wide delta or 
alluvial plain, which was continued some eight or ten miles 
until the mountains closed in upon the river so nearly as 
only just to leave a narrow pathway by tin' water's edge. At 
tliis fork and on the west side stood Fort Kamloops, enclosed 
within pickets; and opposite it was the village of the Shuswap 
Indians. Both the plain and mountains were covered with 
grass, and early spring wild flowers. 

We descended to the river-side, and our Indian companions 
shouted until a canoe was sent across, in which we em- 
barked and paddled over to the Fort. Kamloops differed 
in no respect from other forts of the Hudson Bay Company 
that I had seen — being a mere stockade enclosing six or eight 
buildings, with a gateway at each end. Introducing ourselves 
to Mr. M'Lean, the Company's officer in charge of the fort 
and district, we were most cordially received, and, with the 
hospitality common to these gentlemen, invited to stay in his 
quarters for the few days we must remain here. 

At this time the only other officer at the Fort was 
Mr. Manson. With them, however, was staying .a Koman 
Catholic priest, who, having got into some trouble with the 

i 2 



116 HUDSON BAY COMPANY'S EMPLOYES. Chap. VI. 

Indians of the Okanagan country, had thought it prudent to 
leave that district and take up his abode for a time at 
Kamloops. The life which these gentlemen of the great Fur 
Company lead at their inland stations must necessarily be 
somewhat dull and uneventful; but they have their wives 
and families with them, and grow, I believe, so attached to 
this mode of existence as rarely to care to exchange it for 
another. As it happened we visited them just as the one 
stirring event of the season was expected — the arrival of the 
great Fur Brigade from the north. 

It may be well if I pause here to describe, in as few words 
as possible, the position of the Hudson Bay Company in 
these districts, of which until lately, they formed the sole 
white population. Those who have seen the " fur traders " 
only at their seaports, can form but a very inadequate idea 
of the men of the inland stations. 

Inland you find men who, having gone from England, or 
more frequently Scotland, as boys of fourteen or sixteen, have 
lived ever since in the wilds, never seeing any of their white 
fellow-creatures, but the two or three stationed with them, ex- 
cept when the annual " Fur Brigade " called at their posts. 
They are almost all married and have large families, their 
wives being generally half-breed children of the older servants 
of the Company. Marriage has always been encouraged 
amongst them to the utmost, as it effectually attaches a man 
to the country, and tends to prevent any glaring immoralities 
among the subordinates, which if not checked would soon lead 
to an unsafe familiarity with the neighbouring Indians, and 
render the maintenance of the post very difficult, if not 
impossible. 

In the Company's service there are three grades of officers 
—the "Clerk," "Chief Trader," and "Chief Factor." The 
clerk is paid a regular salary of 1001. to 1501. per annum, and 
he has his mess found him, which is estimated by the Com- 
pany to be worth another 100?. a-year. In this grade they 




BLOCK-HOUSE FORT OF HUDSON BAY COMPANY. 



Chap. VI. HUDSON BAY COMPANY'S EMPLOYES. 117 

are usually kept 14 or 15 years, though interest with the 
directors or great efficiency sometimes enables a man to get 
his promotion in 10 or 12 years. He then becomes a chief 
trader, and, instead of being a salaried servant, is a shareholder, 
his pay varying with the value of the year's furs from 4.001. 
to as high as 700?. or 8001. The mode in which he re- 
ceives his share is somewhat peculiar. The accounts of the 
Company are made up at intervals of four years, and no pay 
is given to the higher servants — i. e. the shareholders — until 
this is done. Thus a man who is made a chief trader in 
1802, will get no pay till 1860, when the dividends for the 
former year are declared. Of course in the long run this is 
the same }hing; as, if a man retires in 1802, he keeps on his 
full pay till 1866, when he is paid his dividend for 1862 ; and 
no real inconvenience is felt, as the Company always lends 
whatever moneys are required, within certain limits, and in- 
deed prefers its officers being in its debt. The posts of chief 
factors are filled up as vacancies occur, the number being 
limited. A man is generally a chief trader for 15 to 20 
years before he reaches this — the highest step in the service- 
The chief factor's share varies from 800?. to 1500?. per 
annum. Every station is, as a rule, in charge of a chief 
trader, chief factors having the control of several posts, or a 
district, as it is called, or being stationed at head-quarters. 

As all Hudson Bay posts are much alike, I will here 
describe them generally. They are built usually in the 
form of a square, or nearly so, of about 100 yards. This 
space is picketed in with logs of timber, driven into the 
ground, and rising 15 to 20 feet above it. In two of 
the corners is usually reared a wooden bastion, sufficiently 
high to enable the garrison to see a considerable distance 
over the country. In the gallery of the bastion five 
or six small guns — six or twelve pounders — are mounted, 
covered in, and used with regular ports like those of a ship ; 
while the ground-floor serves for the magazine. Inside the 



118 VISIT TO AN INDIAN CHIEF. Chap. VI. 

pickets are six or eight houses: one containing the mess- 
room for the officers at the post, and their dwelling-house, 
where the number of them is small ; two or three others — the 
number of course depending on the strength of the post, — 
which seldom exceeds a dozen men — being deyoted to the 
trappers, voyageurs, &c. Another serves for the Indian 
trading-store, and one for the furs, which, as will be hereafter 
explained, remain in store at the inland posts during the 
greater part of the year. 

Some of these forts have seen some hard fighting, and have 
often been as gallantly defended against Indians and the rival 
traders of the old North- Western Company as military posts 
for the defence of which great glory has been gained. 

The day after our arrival at Kamloops we went across North 
Kiver to the Indian village, to pay a visit to the chief of the 
Shuswap tribe, who was described to us as being somewhat of 
a notability. Here was the site of the old fort of the Com- 
pany, which some twelve years back, after the murder of 
Mr. Black, the officer in charge of it, by the Indians, had 
been removed by his successor to the opposite side of the 
river. No doubt the old site was preferable to the new, 
which is subject to the summer floods. Only the year before 
our visit, indeed, all the floors had been started by the water, 
and the occupants of the fort buildings had to move about 
in canoes. 

We found the Shuswap chief located in a good substantial 
hut. The Indian constructs but two kinds of abodes anywhere : 
one a permanent hut, in his village ; the other a temporary 
one, to shelter himself when he is moving about from place to 
place, fishing or collecting clams. In their permanent houses 
the architectural peculiarity that strikes the observer with most 
surprise is the solidity and size of the cross-beams. They 
erect ten or twelve upright supports, according to the size of 
the hut, the tops of which are notched to receive the beams ; 
and it is a great object with them to have as large a beam as 



Chap. VI. VISIT TO AN INDIAN CHIEF. 119 

possible, because, as it must be raised by sheer strength and 
numbers, its size is supposed to testify to the number and 
cordiality of the builders' friends. The ends of these huge 
beams — some of those I have seen being 40 to 50 feet long, by 
two to three feet in diameter — are usually ornamented with 
the head of some fish or animal, which, projecting beyond 
the wall, shows the crest or distinguishing mark of the house. 
The sides of the building are formed of large planks, 
wonderfully smooth considering that the Indians use no 
plane, and until lately, indeed, had no axes. The interior of 
the hut is divided into compartments, and, upon entering, you 
may see a fire burning in each, with six or eight individuals 
huddled about it, their dusky forms scarcely distinguishable in 
the cloud of white blinding smoke, which has no other outlet 
than the door, or sometimes a hole in the roof. Their tem- 
porary hut is constructed lightly of thin poles covered with 
mats; but these, as I have said, are generally used only in 
the summer, and upon their fishing-expeditions and travels. 
It is not, however, unusual for the Indian to have a permanent 
residence in two or three villages, in which case he usually 
makes one set of planks useful for all, carrying them with 
him from place to place, and leaving only the upright posts 
and beams stationary. They have been known, however, from 
some superstitious reason, or because of sickness breaking out 
in a place, to leave their villages with everything standing, 
and never to return to them. 

The building into which we were introduced was more like 
a regular wooden house than an Indian hut. In the centre 
room, lying at length upon a mattrass stretched upon the 
floor, was the chief of the Shuswap Indians. His face was a 
very fine one, although sickness and pain had worn it away 
terribly. His eyes were black, piercing, and restless; his 
cheek-bones high, and the lips, naturally thin and close, had 
that white, compressed look which tells so surely of constant 
suffering. Such was St. Paul, as the Hudson Bay Company 



120 VISIT TO AN INDIAN CHIEF. Chap. VI. 

called him, or Jean Baptiste Lolo, as he had been named by 
the Koman Catholic priests who were in this district many years 
before. Behind him stood his wife, and presently he sum- 
moned two handsome-looking Indian girls, whom he intro- 
duced to us as his daughters. St. Paul received us lying 
upon his mattrass, and apologized in French for not having 
risen at our entrance. He asked Mr. M'Lean to explain that 
he was a cripple. Many years back it appeared St. Paul 
became convinced there was something wrong with his knee. 
Having no faith in the medicine-men of his tribe, and there 
being no white doctor near, the poor savage actually com- 
menced cutting a way to the bone, under the impression that 
it needed cleansing. In time, at the cost of course of great 
personal suffering, he succeeded in boring a hole through the 
bone, which he keeps open by constantly syringing water 
through it. Mr. M'Lean described him as a man of very 
determined character, who had been upon many occasions 
most useful to him and his predecessors at the fort. Although 
obliged to lie in his bed sometimes for days together, his 
sway over his tribe is perfect, and, weak as he is, he rules 
them more by fear than love. Upon my remarking casually 
that I wondered he was not sometimes afraid of some or other 
of his people taking advantage of his comparatively helpless 
condition, he heard me with a grim smile, and for answer 
turned back his pillow, where a loaded gun and a naked 
sword lay ready to his hand. Upon our rising to leave 
Mr. M'Lean whispered that our host would take it ill if 
he were not asked to accompany us ; and this being done, 
to my surprise St. Paul at once assented. Being assisted to 
rise, he hobbled to. the door on crutches, and, having been 
with considerable difficulty got into the saddle, rode about all 
the day with us. - 

The mountain up which Mr. M'Lean guided us was one of 
two standing side by side opposite the fort, and about a mile 
from it. Its companion had been named Boches des Femmes, 



Chap, VI. BANDS OF HORSES. 121 

from the fact that, in summer, many Indian women were to 
be seen scattered about its sides gathering berries and moss. 
From its summit, at a height of some 1500 feet, we had a 
very fine view of the land along the banks of the Thompson 
and North liivers. It appeared to be very good, and in this 
opinion we were confirmed by Mr. M'Lean, who further 
informed us that the land at the head of the Thompson River, 
and southward of that point to the Semilkameen Valley, was 
equally fertile and valuable. Descending the mountain, 
which we christened Mount St. Paul, in honour of the old 
chief, we lunched with him, returning to the fort for a tea- 
dinner. Tea is a beverage drunk usually at this and other 
meals. Indeed, Mr. M'Lean informed us that he took no- 
thing else. Nor had total abstinence disagreed with him. A 
finer or more handsome man I think I never saw, with long 
beard and moustaches, and hair hanging in ringlets down his 
shoulders. The Indians, we heard, had given him the 
sobriquet of the Bearded Chief. 

On the following day we went out to see the bands of 
horses driven in, and those that were past work selected for 
food. There were some two or three hundred horses, of all 
sorts and ages, at the station. Just outside the Fort were two 
pens, or corrals as they called them, and into these the horses 
were driven. A few colts were chosen for breaking in, and 
then the old mares, whose breeding-time was past, were selected 
and — for it was upon horse-flesh principally that the Fort people 
lived — driven out to be killed, skinned, and salted down. 

It was curious to note the close discipline in which the 
stud-horses of each band kept their mares. There are gene- 
rally three studs in each band, and while they were in the 
corral they might be seen galloping about, administering a 
kick here and a bite there. For a few minutes, perhaps, one 
would stand still and look about him, then suddenly, without 
the least perceptible cause or provocation, he would make a 
rush at some unfortunate mare, and bite or kick her severely. 



122 ACCOMPANIED BY ST. PAUL. Chap, VI. 

The mountain-sides in the neighbourhood of Kamloops are 
covered with a bright yellow moss, called by the Indians 
Quillmarcar. It is much used by them as a dye, and when 
boiled gives them that yellow which is so familiar to those 
who have travelled among them in their dog-hair mats and 
other native work. There is also a kind of lichen which 
grows here, called by them " Whyelkine," and which is one 
of their most important articles of food.* In its natural 
state it somewhat resembles horse-hair, and being boiled it is 
pressed into cakes, three or four inches thick, looking not 
unlike our gingerbread. Its taste is very earthy and rather 
bitter. Our companion, St. Paul, gave us this, which they 
call " Wheela," with milk, upon our return to his hut, but two 
or three mouthfuls were all we cared to take. 

While at the Fort I learned that the rivers between 
Kamloops and Pavilion on the Fraser, for which place I had 
determined to start, were likely to be so swollen with the 
late thaw that we should not be able to cross them without 
horses. Accordingly it became necessary to make arrange- 
ments for mounting our party. We discovered that the best 
way of effecting this would be to seek the aid of St. Paul, 
who happened to be the possessor of a score or more horses. 
Willing as Mr. M'Lean was to render us every assistance, he 
could himself spare us no horses, a message having been 
received from the officer in charge of the Fur Brigade, which 
was expected to arrive daily, saying that he should require 
all they could supply him with. Terms were accordingly 
made with St. Paul, and upon their completion, to my 
surprise, the old chief said that he should like to accompany 
us. We were very glad of this, if for two reasons only. In 
the first place, Tom, my interpreter, had fallen ill, and, as 
I have before said, his friend steadily refused to leave him, 
so that we were without a guide, and the information we 
had lately received convinced us that, without the aid of some 

* L. jiibatus. 



Chap. VI. COURSE OF THOMPSON RIVER. 123 

one well acquainted with the fords, it would be difficult, if 
not altogether impossible, to cross the rivers that lay in our 
path. Secondly, St. Paul possessed considerable influence 
with the Indian tribes through which we had to pass, and 
we might feel pretty sure that he would, if he lived through 
the journey, conduct us safely to its end. 

On the morning of the 14th May, then, into the Fort rode 
St. Paul, with an escort of eight men mounted, and with led 
horses for Dr. Campbell and myself. Four of these men were 
to have charge of our packages ; the rest formed his own body- 
guards, two being the old chief's sons. We were soon ready 
to start, and, following the course of the Thompson for about 
twelve miles, came to the river Tranquille. Here Mr. M'Lean, 
who had ridden so far, was compelled to part company with 
us, regretting that the hourly expected arrival of the Fur 
Brigade prevented his leaving Kamloops for any length 
of time. 

The plains that lay along the course of the Thompson 
seemed rather light and sandy, but in spots good land was 
observable. Crossing the Tranquille close to its mouth 
without any difficulty, the water being little above our horses' 
knees, and turning to the right, we mounted a somewhat 
steep gorge leading to a long, narrow valley running nearly 
parallel to the Thompson Kiver, but quite out of sight 
of it. Emerging from this pass, we descended to Lake 
Kamloops, along the side of which we held until night, 
camping at a spot called the Coppermine, where the Indians 
said they had found perfectly pure specimens of that 
metal. We made a very careful examination of the place, 
and although there were unmistakeable signs of the pre- 
sence of copper, we saw nothing to cause us to doubt 
that the Indian's story was not, as usual, very much over- 
charged. 

At this spot the trail by which the Fur Brigade would 
travel to Fort Kamloops met that along which we were 



124 THE FUK BEIGADE. Chap. VI. 

journeying, and St. Paul was very anxious that we should 
deposit a note for the officer in command of it, expressive of 
his, the chiefs, good wishes. I was rather puzzled what to 
say, but St. Paul was so urgent that I should, as he expressed 
it, " Bon jour Mr. Peter," that I scrawled a few hurried lines ; 
and when a year later in Victoria I chanced to meet Mr. 
Peter Ogden, the officer who had been in charge of the 
Brigade, I learnt that upon his arrival at Coppermine he had 
found my note. It was not without regret that I missed 
seeing the Fur Brigade. It is one of those old institutions of 
this wild and beautiful country, which must give way before 
• the approach of civilisation. The time will come — soon, 
perhaps — when such a sight as a train of some 200 horses, 
laden with fur-packages, winding their way through the rough 
mountain-passes of British Columbia, will be unfamiliar as 
that of a canoe upon its rivers. No doubt the change will 
be for the better, but it is sometimes hard to believe it. 
Of course it is much more practical to ascend the Fraser in a 
river steamboat than to make the journey in an Indian canoe ; 
and perhaps, taking the chances of an explosion into con- 
sideration, equally exciting; but it will be long before I 
should prefer the former method of locomotion to the latter 
when the weather is fine. With all its many inconveniences, 
there is something marvellously pleasant in canoe travelling, 
with its tranquil, gliding motion, the regular, splashless dip, 
dip of the paddles, the wild chant of the Indian crew, or better 
still the songs of the Canadian voyageurs, keeping time to the 
pleasant chorus of " Ma belle Bosa " or " Le beau Soldat." 

Miss the Fur Brigade we did, however, and next morning 
we pursued our way along the shore of the Kamloops Lake. 
The scenery here was very pretty, and the lake was, we found, 
perfectly navigable for steamers. Indeed it has since been 
proposed to start steamers here, and run them past Kamloops 
for some miles up the North and Thompson Bivers, from the 
latter of which a small portage would connect them with 



Chap. VI. BUONAPAKTE KIVER. 125 

another line of steamers to be stationed on the Okanagan 
Lakes. 

About half-way along the north side of Kamloops Lake 
the trail passes round a very steep and dangerous cliff, over- 
hanging the deep water below. A ledge barely wide enough 
to give the horses footing is the only pathway. This pass, 
known as the Mauvais Rocher, was one of the most un- 
pleasant places I had ever ridden over ; and I was not at all 
surprised to hear that several horses had, with their riders, 
been precipitated into the lake below. St. Paul told us that 
he had discovered a way along a narrow gorge in the rear, by 
which this might be avoided, but that it required some labour 
to clear it before it could be used. There is also a trail 
upon the other side of the lake by which the passage of the 
Mauvais Eocher might be avoided ; and a horse-ferry had 
just been established at its west end, which was very generally 
used by the American packers from Walla- Walla. But 
travelling northward as we were, had we followed this trail 
we should have had to cross the Thompson twice. 

A little below Bhuswap Lake the Buonaparte River joins 
the Thompson. This river is said to have its rise in Loon 
Lake, some 40 or 50 miles north of the Thompson. At 
this point we left the Thompson and camped for the night, 
by the side of the Riviere de la Cache, a small stream 
flowing into the Buonaparte. 

Next morning's w r ork commenced with fording the Buona- 
parte. It cost us some time to find a suitable spot, the 
floods having made the ordinary ford impassable ; but at last 
we managed to cross, the horses being now and then swept 
off their legs into deep water, and having to swim for it. 
En passant, I would remark that it is by no means so easy 
to swim a horse across a rapid stream as it may seem to a 
horseman who has not tried it ; the rolling motion given to 
the animal by the swift current making the rider very apt to 
lose his balance. 



126 A DIFFICULT BRIDGE. Chap. VI. 

The Buonaparte, however, was not the most difficult river 
we had to cross on this day's journey. For at the Eiviere 
Defant the water was found to be so deep as to make it 
necessary to swim the horses all the way across, without the 
chance of their gaining a footing from shore to shore. We 
were particularly anxious to avoid this necessity on account 
of the instruments, which would infallibly be damaged, and 
after a long search we came upon the trunk of a tree by 
which Indians were evidently accustomed to cross. To our 
annoyance, however, the river had risen so high that this 
rough bridge was at least two feet under the water, which 
tore over it with the rapidity of a mill-stream ; so that, unless 
a rope could be carried over and fastened at the other side to 
form a balustrade, it seemed quite impossible to get ourselves 
and the luggage across safely. However, St. Paul seemed 
determined that this should be done, and several of his men 
stripping to the work endeavoured gallantly to cross the 
river. As often, however, as they managed to get to the 
middle of the primitive bridge, the elasticity of the tree, 
together with the velocity of the current, sent them spinning 
off, and they were swept down the stream, having to swim 
vigorously for their lives. After many successive failures, 
we had almost made up our minds that we should have to 
loiter by the river's side for a day or so, until its waters should 
have subsided — for there were no trees handy large enough 
to frame a bridge with — when St. Paul, whose anger had 
risen at the ill-success of each fresh attempt, to our astonish- 
ment leapt up — we were all lying on the ground watching 
the baffled Indians — and throwing off his clothes ran forward 
to their aid. In his weak and exhausted condition, we made 
sure that the effort and excitement of such an attempt would 
act most injuriously if not fatally upon him, and did our best 
to dissuade him from making it. Nor were we altogether 
unselfish in this, perhaps, since we knew that, if the old chief 
lost his life in our service, it would not only be most painful 



Chap. VI. DEXTERITY OF ST. PAUL. 127 

to us, but that we should lose all the Indians, who would 
infallibly return to Kamloops with his corpse, to take part in 
his wake. However, the spirit of the old man was roused, 
and breaking from us lie was soon standing mid-stream, the 
rope in his hand, yelling to his men, and swearing in a French 
jargon peculiar to himself, with a zeal and originality that 
would have inspired the members of Captain Shandy's troop 
in the Low Countries with admiring envy. Very much to 
our relief, as may be supposed, St. Paul succeeded in 
scrambling over the fragile bridge with the agility, of a 
monkey, and, the rope being made last to the other side, we 
crossed with comparative ease. Not, however, without 
getting thoroughly wet and spoiling one of the instruments 
about which I felt so anxious. AYith all my care, when I 
came to look at my sextant, I found that it had been under 
water, and that the pieces of wood that kept it in its place in 
the case had been loosened and were floating about. Fortu- 
nately, however, I had a pocket one with me, so that its loss 
was not so important as otherwise it would have been. All 
now fairly over, we halted for breakfast. I had foimd before 
leaving Kamloops that when travelling with the officers of 
the Hudson Bay Company, St. Paul was always admitted to 
their mess, and upon starting I had of course invited him to 
join ours. The Indian is so quick at observing and imitating 
the manners of those with whom he is brought into contact, 
that the old chief had learnt to conduct himself with perfect 
composure and decorum, and the beef w T ith which he had 
provided himself on starting, proved a welcome addition to 
our bacon. 

Following the course of the Buonaparte until its junction 
with the Chapeau, we turned up the valley through which 
that river flows. There is much good land along the Buona- 
parte; the whole being clothed with long grass, of which 
the horses seemed very fond. We carried no fodder with us 
on this expedition, turning the horses loose at night to graze. 



128 AMERICAN FARMERS. Chap. VI. 

They never strayed far. One of course was hobbled, and at 
daybreak an Indian caught and mounted him, driving in 
the others. 

We followed the course of the Chapeau until it opened 
into .a large valley running southward, in which the river 
rises, and through which also another small river runs to 
join the Fraser, some 20 miles above Lytton. Through 
this valley the Indians told us there was a trail by which 
Lytton might be reached in two days.* Taking a northerly 
direction, we passed a small lake called Lake Crown, and soon 
came to the Pavilion Lake. The mountains here are of 
limestone and rise abruptly from the lake's edge, causing the 
trail to be somewhat narrow and dangerous. But this place 
and the Mauvais Eocher on the Shuswap Lake were the only 
spots upon the whole of our route from Kamloops to Pavilion, 
along which waggons might not have travelled with ease. 
Of course in saying this I suppose the rivers bridged. 

Lake Pavilion is six miles long by one wide. On its 
south bank there is a mountain some 3000 or 4000 feet high, 
which is topped w r ith a very remarkable peak, not at all 
unlike a watch-tower built there to keep a look-out over the 
Fraser. The Indians call this Skillipaalock, w T hieh being 
interpreted means a finger or joint. 

Just beyond the Pavilion Lake we passed a log hut, near 
which a farmer was ploughing — it was the first time I had 
seen such an implement in use in British Columbia— very 
diligently with two horses. This farm, of which I shall 
have occasion to speak- hereafter, had, we found, been occu- 
pied by a couple of Americans for more than a year. 
They described their land as good, and spoke well of their 
prospects. Their principal occupation at present consisted in 
growing vegetables, &c, for the miners. The Pavilion Eiver 
ran close by their hut, giving them a plentiful supply of 

* Lately this valley has become the high road from Lytton to Cariboo. 



Chap. VI. PAVILLON. 129 

water. It is a small stream flowing from the lake, and 
discharging itself into the Fraser at Pavilion. 

Altogether we were five days making the journey from 
Kamloops to Pavilion, although the distance is a little under 
100 miles. We had been much impeded, however, by the 
swollen state of the rivers, and had ridden very leisurely, 
constantly stopping to take bearings and make observations 
generally. Pavilion stands upon a terrace very similar to 
that upon which Lytton is situated, but some 100 feet or so 
higher. It consisted at that time of a score or so of miners' 
huts, and had gained its name from the fact of an Indian chief 
having been buried here, over whose grave, after the fashion 
of this people, a large white flag had been kept flying. It 
has since become a much more important place, forming a 
sort of head-quarters for the miners and the mule-trains, who 
from Pavilion, branch north and south to the diggings at 
Alexandria, Cariboo, and Kamloops. 

We wished much to have pushed on from Pavilion to 
Alexandria, although at that time the diggings at Cariboo 
and Quesnelle were unthought of, and Alexandria was only 
known as a more distant station of the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany. But poor St. Paul was knocked up by the efforts he 
had already made, and in such suffering that it was quite 
impossible to expect him to accompany us further. Almost 
all the way, indeed, he had been obliged to ride his horse in 
side-saddle fashion, and his exertions at the Defant River 
had used up what little strength he had, besides aggravating 
the pain he always suffered from his wounded knee. Accord- 
ingly, these considerations, coupled with the expense of pre- 
paring a new party for the trip, and the fact that we had 
already done more and gone farther than had been marked 
out for me in the Governor's programme of instructions, 
determined us to return by the Harrison-Lilloett route to the 
mouth of the Fraser. After staying three days at Pavilion, 
during which time the wind blew and the dust tormented us 

K 



130 A DRUNKEN SCUFFLE. Chap. VI. 

much as it had done at Lytton, we bade St. Paul and his 
party adieu, starting for Cayoosh, or as it is now called Lilloett. 

I may say here that while at Pavilion we experienced the 
only trouble with Indians I have ever had while travelling. 
A half-breed who was journeying with us, although not of 
our party, having a bullock to sell, disposed of it for 200 or 
300 dollars, purchasing with part of its price a keg of 
whisky. Upon the contents of this he very soon got 
drunk, and must needs reduce the rest of our party to 
the same plight ; so that in the dead of the night I was 
roused by the sound of scuffling going on outside the tent, 
and became aware of what all who have had any expe- 
rience in camping will agree with me in calling a very dis- 
agreeable sensation, caused by a number of men tumbling 
over the tent-ropes. Going out, we found that St. Paul 
and one of his sons were the only sober men of our escort. 
Fortunately my gun was the only one belonging to the 
party, and most of the knives were in St. Paul's tent, or 
the consequences might have been serious. As it was, the 
offending half-breed was driven away, two or three of the 
more refractory Indians knocked down, and peace re-esta- 
blished, in a way we, without St. Paul, would have found 
it very difficult to accomplish. 

It may be interesting to note that when I was at Pavilion, 
flour was selling at 35 cents (Is. 5jtZ.) the pound, and bacon 
at 75 cents (35.). A few months earlier in the winter these 
high prices had been more than double. The charges for the 
carriage of goods were also very high, as much as 25 cents 
per lb., being paid from Pavilion to Kamloops, while to Big- 
Bar, a place only 18 miles distant, the rate was 8 cents, or ±d. 

We were now left without any attendants, but as we knew 
that there were regular mule-trains on the Harrison-Lilloett 
route, we determined only to engage two horses to take our 
baggage as far as Lilloett, and thence to accompany a train 
down to Port Douglas. 



Chap. VI. SUPPOSED SOURCES OF RIVERS. 131 

We started on the morning of the 23rd May, and proceeded 
towards Fountain, keeping the left bank of the Fraser, and 
passing along a fair trail over very good land ; our party 
consisting of our two selves, a couple of horses, and one man, 
who served as guide, driver, and packer. 

Fountain is a flat at a sharp turn in the river 12 miles 
below Pavilion, and derives its name from a small natural 
fountain spouting up in the middle of it. It is a much 
prettier site than Pavilion, and the river-bend shelters it from 
the gusty north and south winds which I have mentioned as 
being so very uncomfortable both at Lytton and Pavilion. 

About three miles below Fountain, and on the opposite 
side, the Bridge River (or Hoystien, as the Indians call it) 
joins the Fraser. This river takes its English name from the 
fact of the Indians having made a bridge across its mouth, 
which was afterwards pulled down by two enterprising 
citizens, who constructed another one, for crossing which they 
charge the miners twenty-five cents. Bridge River rises in 
some lakes 50 or 60 miles from its mouth. I have never 
visited them, but from information obtained at various times 
from Indians, I believe that the Bridge, Lilloett, Squaw- 
misht, and Clahoose Kivers, all of which will be mentioned 
hereafter, take their rise in these same lakes, which, so far 
as I could ascertain, lie very high up in a moimtain-basin, 
nearly north of Desolation Sound. 

The Bridge River also runs through two lakes about 40 
miles from its junction with the Fraser. I once met a miner 
who told me he had visited these lakes, and thought the land 
round them very good and well adapted for agriculture. A 
man at Pavilion also told me he had travelled from 
Chilcotin Fort to these lakes by a valley parallel to the 
Fraser, and had then descended the river. I am inclined, 
however, to doubt whether these lakes lie so far as 40 miles 
up the river, as I have found that travellers almost always 
overestimate distances when going up a rapid river. 

k 2 



132 LILLOETT. Chap. VI. 

Just before coming to the Bridge Kiver our guide pointed 
to a deserted bar opposite, and said, "Last summer I and 
two others made 600 dollars (200Z.) each in a week there." 
" Why did you leave it ? " I asked. " Oh, we thought we 
had done enough," was the reply ; " and went to Victoria and 
spent it all in two or three weeks : and when I came up the 
river again I hadn't a cent, and so I took to packing." 
This is the story nearly every miner has to tell. If you 
question him, you will find that at some time or other he 
was worth several thousand dollars. He may still, perhaps, 
have a gold watch, or a large brooch stuck in the front of 
his mining-shirt, as a memento of that time, but all the rest 
has gone. 

About a mile and a half below the Bridge Eiver, at a place 
called French Bar, is a ferry, which we crossed. After 
crossing we came upon a fine flat, lightly timbered with small 
trees,* which continued to Lilloett, which is about two miles 
from the ferry. 

Lilloett is a very pretty site, on the whole decidedly the 
best I saw on the Fraser Kiver. It stands upon a plateau 
some hundred feet above the river. On the opposite side of 
the Fraser is another large plateau on which the Hudson Bay 
Company were building a fort when I was there, which was 
to be named Fort Berens, after one of their directors. 

Lilloett has now grown into a somewhat important town, 
situated as it is at the north end of the Harrison-Lilloett 
route, at its junction with the Fraser. 

The Inkumtch Kiver runs in at the south end of the flat 
on which the town stands. It is a rapid stream, 40 or 50 
yards wide at its mouth, and not fordable in summer. 

At Lilloett we found that the pack-trains came up to Port 
Anderson at the south end of the lake of that name, and 
that we must take boat across it and Lake Seton. We pro- 
cured two or three Indians to carry our baggage and instru- 
ments to Lake Seton, which was about four miles off; but 



Chap. VI. '< RESTAURANTS." 133 

finding upon calculation that the expense of conveying our 
cooking-utensils, &c., would be considerably more than their 
original cost, we determined to leave them behind for the 
benefit of any travellers who might pass that way. We knew 
we could not starve, as there were several " restaurants " on 
the trail down ; still we took some bread with us in case of 
accidents. It is very awkward at first when you have to make 
any purchases at these places, getting your change in gold- 
dust. There is little or no coin in use among the miners, 
and they pay and transact all business in gold-dust. For a 
purse every one carries a chamois-leather bag containing the 
dust. If you offer coin, they take out their scales and weigh 
you off your change. I have mentioned the fact of there 
being " restaurants " all along the Lilloett portages, and I 
should have mentioned their existence in the canons of the 
Fraser also. All such places in this country are called 
" restaurants," although they are simply huts, where the 
traveller can obtain a meal of bacon, beans, bread, salt butter, 
and tea or coffee, for a dollar ; while, if he has no tent with 
him, he can select the softest plank in the floor to sleep on. 
Of course these places vary with their situation. At those 
on the Lower Fraser meals can now, I believe, be had for 
half-a-dollar, and sometimes eggs, beef, and vegetables can 
be got. On the other hand, at those far up the river I paid a 
dollar and a half for the bare miner's fare of bacon, beans, and 
bread. Miners suffer a great deal from inflamed mouths, 
which is very generally attributed to their constant diet of 
bacon. By some, however, it is attributed to the water of 
the river.* 

We started for Lake Seton on the afterndbn of the same 
day that we reached Lilloett, and, turning off from the 
Fraser River, followed the Inkumtch, up a deep narrow 
valley between two magnificent mountains some 5000 feet 
high. About half-way to Lake Seton we found that the 
river divided; one branch coming from the lake and the 



134 LAKES SETON AND ANDEKSON. Chap. VI. 

other down a gorge on the left. This branch is said to take 
its rise in a lake some miles below Lilloett, and between the 
lake of that name and the Fraser Eiver. 

After walking about four miles we emerged from the 
mountain-pass and came out on Lake Seton. Here we had 
to get a canoe to cross the river, as the boatmen's huts were 
on the other side of it. We crossed, and, as it was late, 
pitched our tent and made arrangements for a boat with four 
men to take us over the lake in the morning. 

In the morning accordingly we started, and had a most 
tedious cold pull of four hours' duration. On this lake, and, 
indeed, on all the chain of lakes, it blows almost incessantly 
from the southward during the day, the wind commencing 
at nine or ten and dying away at four or five, leaving the 
mornings and evenings calm. Lake Seton and Lake An- 
derson are very like each other, although the latter trends 
much more to the southward than the former. Both are very 
deep, and bounded by mountains of 3000 to 5000 feet, which 
rise so abruptly from the water as to leave no room for a 
road even along their banks without a good deal of blasting 
and levelling. These mountains are densely wooded, like 
those along the coast. The two lakes are each 14 or 
15 miles long, and are separated by a neck of land a mile 
and a half in extent, with a stream of 20 or 30 yards wide 
running through it. There is a small restaurant at the 
south end of Lake Seton, and another larger one at the south 
end of Lake Anderson, for the entertainment of the muleteers, 
&c, who sleep there after coming from Port Pemberton; 
returning on the following day. 

We were lucky enough to find a mule-train starting next 
morning, and arranged to accompany it. At this time the 
charge was eight cents (4Jc?.) per pound for packing goods 
along this portage, the length of which is about 25 miles. 
This portage, which extends from Port Anderson to Port 
Pemberton on the Lilloett Lake, was at first called the 



Chap. VI. THE LILLOETT VALLEY. 135 

Birkenhead Portage, but since has acquired the much more 
appropriate name of Mosquito Portage. When I passed 
along it the trail was on the whole good, though in some 
parts very indifferent. But this summer will probably see a 
waggon-road constructed from one end to the other. The 
valley through which the road lies averages about 1500 yards 
in width. At Port Anderson, however, where it is widest, it 
is about two miles broad. There is a stream running the 
whole way along it, having a watershed at the Summit Lake 
about nine miles from Port Anderson. From this lake, 
when the water is high, the rivers run either way, one into 
Lake Anderson and the other into the Lilloett River, just 
above Port Pemberton. When the waters are out the north 
branch only runs from the lake, the true source of the south 
branch being a few yards from it. The Summit Lake is, 
as nearly as I could estimate it, 800 feet above Lake Ander- 
son and 1800 above the sea. The banks of the river arc 
low and covered with willows, <Xrc, and there are a number of 
small streams running into it at intervals all the way along. 
Thero are only two of these of any size, which come down 
rather large valleys. The mountains on either side range 
from 1000 to 5000 feet high, and are generally very steep. 
All the level spots are covered with wild peas, vetches, 
lettuce, and several sorts of berries. The mosquitoes along 
the portage were more troublesome than I had ever found 
them (at that time) elsewhere. 

Five or six miles before reaching Port Pemberton the 
valley opens out, and there are several miles of splendid 
grass-land on the right, through which the Lilloett River 
runs into the lake of the same name. On this occasion 
I had not much opportunity for observing these Lilloett 
meadows, as they are called, but upon my next visit I came 
upon them by the Lilloett Valley, and walked all over them. 
Several agricultural settlers were already there, and it is a 



136 THE FALL OF RAIN PARTIAL. Chap.' VI. 

lovely spot for settlement. The river here divides into 
several small streams, which run through the plain in all 
directions, cutting it up into fine fields, and greatly adding 
to its beauty. 

Port Pemberton is at the north end of Lilloett Lake, and 
consists of a couple of restaurants and half-a-dozen huts, occu- 
pied by muleteers and boatmen. The great objection to its 
site is that there is a large flat off it, which in winter dries 
the whole way across the lake, so that even boats cannot get 
to the town, and all goods have to be landed a quarter of a 
mile below it. This is, however, quite unavoidable, as there 
is no place further down the lake on which to build a town, 
the mountains rising nearly perpendicularly from the water. 
When the road was in contemplation Captain Grant, E.E., 
who had command of the men at work upon it, examined the 
meadows with a view of seeing if it would answer better to 
take the road from the other side of the lake, but he decided 
against it. This lake is in appearance much like the others 
I have described. 

We got across the Lilloett Lake the same afternoon, sleep- 
ing that night at Port Lilloett. Early next morning we 
again set out. It rained the whole night while we were at 
Port Lilloett, and we were informed that this was the first 
rain that had fallen since the beginning of the year. This 
illustrates the partiality of the rain in this region, where 
January, February, March, and April had passed without a 
shower, while at Victoria it had rained almost incessantly for 
the first half of that period. 

Next morning we started for Port Douglas. At the time 
I first went along this — which I have before said is called the 
Douglas Portage — there was only the trail which had been 
cut by the party who had volunteered for the purpose. Hav- 
ing no engineer with them, they gave themselves a vast deal 
more trouble than there was any occasion for, by makmg the 



Chap. VI. HARRISON LAKE. 137 

trail pass over all sorts of ridges which might have been 
avoided. Eight miles from Port Lilloett the traveller comes 
to a very curious hot spring, called St. Agnes' Well, so 
named from one of the Governor's daughters. It runs in a 
small stream out of a mass of conglomerate into a natural 
basin at its foot, overflowing which it finds its way into the 
Lilloett River. Here have been built a restaurant and bath- 
house. On my first visit I stopped to bathe and found the 
water in the basin hotter than I could bear. Unfortunately 
my thermometer was only marked to 120°, up to which the 
mercury flew instantly. I believe its temperature has since 
been ascertained to be 180° Falir. 

I have said that the Lilloett River runs down nearly to 
Port Douglas. When I passed down no canoes were able to 
ascend, though some went down the stream. In winter, how- 
ever, a good deal of traffic is carried on by the river, at a 
cost less than the land-carriage. This river varies greatly 
in width, ranging from 50 to 150 yards. About nine miles 
below Port Lilloett a large stream, called by the Indians 
the Amockwa, joins it; and about the same distance above 
Port Douglas another river, called the Zoalklun, runs into 
it, coming, it is said, from a lake called Zoalkliick. Two 
large hills have to be crossed on this portage, which have 
been named Sevastopol and Gibraltar; the latter rises just 
before entering Port Douglas, and on its south side are the 
finest cedars * I saw in the whole country. There is a stream 
running down a gorge in this hill, and a large water-mill 
has been erected about half-a-mile from the town, so that 
I dare say considerable havoc has been made among the 
cedars by this time. 

The scenery on the Harrison Lake is much finer than on 
the upper ones. It is also much longer, being 45 miles in 

* Juniperus occidentalis ? I believe there is no true cedar in British 
Columbia. 



138 SUDDEN CHANGES OF TEMPERATURE. Chap. VI. 

length, and four or five broad. There are several islands 
upon it, and some large and apparently fertile valleys 
running into it. In some of these silver has been found, and 
one or more companies have been started to work it. 

During our journey we found the change of temperature 
very great and sudden. I have seen the thermometer 31° 
in the shade in the morning, 95° at noon, and 40° again the 
same evening. 

On the 19th June we rejoined the ' Plumper ' at Esqui- 
malt. 



SKETCH MAP OF HARO ARCHIPELAGO, SHOWING THE THREE CHANNELS. 



.-., 



if* 



w- 



^ R ,v£> 



BJRITISH £ (COLUMBIA 



-■■ •.-■:-\it, >-, -.--■ 








c.!-:iRr-lC~- 



^^?SHOALIH? \.\ v \STUARTS 



van c; Q,Ui>f E R D |f c ^,, \ 






DARCVI. *» ^,"& =T?f 



r y^ 



i« VjX, \ 1 







Like claimed bt the United States. 
Line claimed by Great Britain. 
Proposed Middle Channel. 



Chap. VII. THE BOUNDARY QUESTION. 139 



CHAPTER VII. 



American occupation of San Juan Island — Arrival of the Flagship, 1I.M.S. 
1 Ganges ' — Inlets of the ' Coast of British Columbia — Autumn Survey 
between Nanaimo and Victoria — The 'Plumper' leaves for San Francisco 
— Our stay there. 

July, 1859. — The Boundary Commissioners had been all 
this while working to little effect. The treaty concluded 
in 1844 between the English and American Governments 
was, as I have before said, somewhat vague. It set forth 
clearly enough that the boundary-line should follow the 
parallel of 49° north latitude, to the centre of the Gulf 
of Georgia ; but it was at this point, as the reader may 
remember, that the difficulties attendiDg its interpretation 
began. Thence the treaty stipulated that the line should 
pass southward through the channel which separates the 
continent from Vancouver Island to the Strait of Juan de 
Fuca. The channel. But there were three. Were the most 
eastward of these meant, such a construction would give pos- 
session of all the islands of the Gulf to Great Britain. On 
the other hand, should the line, as the American Commis- 
sioners contended, be taken to pass down the Haro Strait, these 
islands would pertain to them. Keasons, which I have pre- 
viously given, exist which prevent my making any remarks 
upon the merits of the matters in dispute between the Com- 
missioners of Great Britain and the United States, or the 
results which followed them. I may only say, that it was at 
this time, while the question had been referred by the Com- 
missioners to their respective Governments, that General 
Harney, who had lately been appointed to the command of 
the United States troops in the territories of Oregon and 



140 ARRIVAL OP THE FLAG-SHIP. Chap. VII. 

Washington, without any notice, landed soldiers upon the 
island of San Juna, who still remain there. 

The same reasons which keep me silent upon this proceed- 
ing of the American General prevent my doing more than 
allude to the angry excitement which it caused in the 
colonies and at home. The events of that period will still 
be fresh in their memory of my readers. It will, therefore, 
be remembered how nearly war between the two countries 
was approached, and by what judicious and timely arrange- 
ments it was averted. I will merely remark, in conclusion, 
that, during the present domestic troubles of the American 
people, this dispute is temporarily shelved. San Juan is at 
present held by equal bodies of troops of Great Britain and 
America,* and the question remains open for settlement at 
some future period. 

August 5th. — The flagship arrived, with divers on board, 
who, upon examining the ' Plumper,' found that she had 
received so much damage that it was determined, so soon 
as the coming winter-work was finished, to proceed to San 
Francisco, where the necessary repahVcould be made. 

August 19th. — A report reaching the Governor of some 
settlers in Burrard Inlet having been seized and detained 
by the Indians, we were despatched thither to investigate this 
matter, but, upon our arrival, we found the report untrue. 

I will take the present opportunity of giving a short and 
general description of the more important of those long arms 
of the sea, or inlets, which, as a glance at the map will show 
the reader, stretch at comparatively small intervals inland 
along the coast of British Columbia. Some of these were not 
surveyed until a period considerably later than the time of 
which I am now writing, while others are still unexplored. 
It must be many years before these shores can be of any 
value to the new colony; and it is mainly with the hope 

* About 100 men of each nation. 



Chap. VII. BURRARD INLET. 141 

of discovering, from the head of one of them, a more 
direct route or routes to the gold-fields on the Upper Fraser 
than that afforded by the river, that exploring parties have 
been, and still are, busy examining them. 

All these inlets possess certain general characteristics. 
They run up between steep mountains three or four 
thousand feet in height ; the water is deep, and anchorages 
far from plentiful ; while they terminate, almost without 
exception, in valleys, — occasionally large and wide, at other 
times mere gorges, — through which one or more rivers struggle 
into the sea. They may be said, indeed, to resemble large 
fissures in the coast more than anything else. In the days 
of Vancouver these arms of the sea were diligently searched in 
the hope of discovering through one of them the long looked- 
for passage that should connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. 
It was not indeed until after many successive disappoint- 
ments that Vancouver seems to have relinquished this hope ; 
and although of course some inaccuracies have been found 
in his charts of these parts, their general correctness, together 
with the amount of labour they must have cost him, and the 
patience and perseverance with which he forced his vessels 
through intricate passages difficult and dangerous even to 
steamers, deserve more credit than he ever obtained. 

The southernmost, and as yet the most important, of the 
inlets of British Columbia was named, by Vancouver, " Bur- 
rard," after a friend of that name in the Royal Navy. 
This inlet differs from most of the others in possessing 
several good anchorages. It is divided into three distinct 
harbours, which are separated from each other by narrows, 
through which the tide rushes with such velocity as to render 
them impassable by any but powerful steamers except, at 
slack-water or with the tide. 

The entrance of Burrard Inlet lies 14 miles from the 
sand-heads of the Fraser River. English Bay is the an- 
chorage immediately inside the entrance on the south side 



142 HOWE SOUND. .Chap. VII. 

and is of considerable importance to vessels entering at 
night, or when the tide is running out through the narrows, 
affording them an anchorage where they can wait comfortably 
until morning or turn of tide, instead of drifting about the 
place. Two miles inside the first narrows is Coal Harbour, 
where coal has been found in considerable quantities and 
of good quality, although the demand is not yet sufficient to 
induce speculators to work it in opposition to the already 
established mines at Nanaimo. Six miles above Coal Har- 
bour, the inlet divides again into two arms ; one of which runs 
inland about ten miles, the other opening into Port Moody, 
which forms the head of the southern arm. Port Moody is a 
very snug harbour, three miles long, and averaging half-a- 
mile wide, though only 400 yards across at the entrance. It is 
the possession of this port, with its proximity by land to New 
Westminster upon the Fraser Eiver, from which place it is 
distant but five miles, which gives to Burrard Inlet its pre- 
sent importance. During the winter the Lower Fraser is 
sometimes frozen up, and the only access to British Columbia 
then open is by the way of Burrard Inlet and Port Moody. 
Hither the steamers have to take their passengers, mails, and 
cargo ; whence, by a short, good road, they are conveyed to 
New Westminster. During last winter (1861-62), which was 
unusually severe, the Fraser was entirely blocked up; and 
tins way, and an out-of-the-way, inconvenient trail of seven 
miles from Mud Bay, inside Point Koberts, were the only 
routes by which the interior of British Columbia could for 
some considerable time be reached. 

Immediately north of Burrard Inlet is Howe Sound, the 
north point of the former forming the south shore of the latter. 
This sound runs inland for about 20 miles, and is wider 
than the other inlets, having a breadth at its entrance of six 
miles. At its head is a wide, extensive valley, the soil of 
which is very good, and through which several rivers run into 
the inlet : the largest of these, the Squawmisht, is navigable 



Chap. VII. JERVIS INLET. 143 

for 20 miles for canoes. From this point, which, how- 
ever — so tortuous is the river — is only distant ten miles 
from the head of the sound, a road might, with no great dif- 
ficulty, be cut to Port Pemberton, on the north end of the 
Lilloett Lake, the distance being only 40 or 50 miles. I 
examined this route in 1860, and found it perfectly prac- 
ticable ; but as a road between Port Douglas, at the head of 
Harrison Lake, and the south end of the Lilloett Lake had 
already been constructed, it was not thought advisable to 
make another so near it. Had this route met the Fraser 
above instead of below Cayoosh, it would have been worth 
cutting at any expense ; but coming out where it does, its 
construction would not have been of sufficient benefit to the 
colony to have justified the great outlay which must have 
been incurred in making it. 

Next to Howe Sound is Jervis Inlet, a narrow arm run- 
ning inland 45 miles. Vancouver appears to have thought 
this the most promising of all the inlets lie had explored for 
the great object of his search ; and experienced great disap- 
pointment when, after sailing up it for several days, he 
reached its head. It seems strange that such an experienced 
explorer should have expected that so narrow a passage — its 
greatest breadth after the first ten miles being but two — 
would be found to divide the American continent from shore 
to shore. 

It was for some time thought that a highway to British 
Columbia would be found to exist up this inlet ; and, with the 
view of ascertaining its practicability, I was instructed to 
start from the head of Jervis Inlet, and make my way to the 
Fraser River. An account of this journey and its unsuc- 
cessful issue will follow in its place. Whilst making it, I 
constantly interrogated the Indians who accompanied me as 
to the probability of a way existing from the head of Toba or 
Bute Inlets, which run up from Desolation Sound, and are 
the two next inlets northward of Jervis. From their answers, 



144 CLAHOOSE EIVER. Chap. VII. 

I was for some time under the impression that Bute Inlet 
was the place whence a start might be made for the Fraser 
with every prospect of success. But upon returning to Vic- 
toria, and submitting the accounts of my informants to the 
scrutiny of an interpreter, and making them map out in their 
own way the route that they suggested, I came to the con- 
clusion that the route they spoke of led, not to the Fraser 
Biver, but to Lake Anderson. 

-^fr-It may seem strange that Indians living at Jervis Inlet 
should know the country about Desolation Sound so well, 
seeing that the two arms of the sea are distant from 
each other 60 miles, and that the inhabitants of each inlet 
are constantly at war. The tribe, however, to which my 
guides belonged/ although in the summer dwelling by the 
coast, were settled really at Lake Anderson, from which 
neighbourhood they migrated to Howe Sound, Jervis, Bute, 
and Toba Inlets, to fish, and were, therefore, likely to be well 
acquainted with the country through which at such times 
they must pass on their way to the coast. They were called 
Loquilts, the proper Indians of Jervis Inlet being named 
Sechelts. 

From these Indians I ascertained that the Bridge Biver, 
one — the north — branch of the Lilloett, together with the 
Squawmisht and the Clahoose Bivers, which empty into 
Desolation Sound, all take their rise in three or four small 
lakes lying in a mountain basin some 50 or 60 miles from 
the coast due north of Jervis Inlet. Mr. Downie, when 
exploring Bute Inlet with a view to a way from the coast 
inland, went four or five miles up the Clahoose Biver, which 
he described as large and broad, running in a north-east 
direction. " The Indians," he wrote, " told me it would take 
five days to get to the head of it. Judging from the way a 
canoe goes up such rivers, the distance would be about sixty 
miles, and it must be a long way above the Quamish (Squaw- 
misht), and not far from the Lilloett. The Indians have 



Chap. VII. KOUTES TO THE INTERIOR. 145 

gone this route to the head of Bridge Kiver, and it may prove 
to be the best route to try. It is very evident there is a pass 
in the coast-range here that will make it preferable to Jarvis 
-Inlet or Howe Sound. If a route can be got through, it will 
lead direct to Bridge River." 

It is now three years since Mr. Downie made the above 
statement ; and I think it is probable that he has long since 
changed the opinion he then expressed as to the route to l^ie 
Bridge Kiver being the most practicable and best of those 
proposed to the Upper Fraser. So little, however, is known 
of this valley — and that little comes from Indian information 
— that the route advocated by Mr. Downie may yet be found 
to equal his expectations of it. Since my return from the 
colony it has been again examined and adopted by a com- 
pany, who propose at once to open it up. It is asserted 
by them that this way is nearly twenty miles shorter than 
the Bentinck Arm route to Alexandria, and that no serious 
obstacles intervene to prevent striking the Fraser at a point 
where steamers can be put on to ply on the Upper River. 
The right to construct this route, and to collect tolls on 
the pack-trail for five years, at 1J cents per lb., and 50 
cents for animals — with, should a waggon -road be constructed, 
5 cents per lb. toll — has been conceded to them. In their 
prospectus the distance of the route proposed is set down as 
241 miles, of which 83 miles are river and lake navigation, 
and 158 land-carriage, offering an advantage over the rival 
route by Bentinck Arm, which has a longer land-carriage. 
Before this summer is out, the question of superiority will 
in all probability be settled. 

The next inlet, north of Bute, is Loughborough. Beyond 
are Knight Inlet and Fife Sound, of which comparatively 
little is known. In 1861 Mr. Downie went up Knight Inlet 
and discovered plumbago, which, when tested, did not prove 
to be so rich as he at first sight thought it. 

The entrance to Fife Sound is marked by a magnificent 

L 



146 ROUTES TO THE INTERIOR. Chap. VII. 

mountain on its north side, winch Vancouver named 
" Stephens," after the then First Lord of the Admiralty. 

Above this point up to our coast boundary, in 54° 40' north 
latitude, is a succession of inlets known only to the Indians 
who inhabit them, and some of the Hudson Bay Company's 
employes. One of these, through which it is thought by many 
that the much-desired road to the interior of the country will 
be found to lie, " Deans Canal," has recently attracted con- 
siderable notice. The entrance to this inlet is about 80 
miles from the north end of Yancouver Island ; it runs in- 
land some 50 miles, under the name of Burke Channel, and 
then divides into three arms : one, Deans Canal, running 
nearly north for 25 miles ; the others, called the North and 
South Bentinck Arms, pursuing north-easterly and south- 
easterly directions. By one or other of these channels it is 
pretty confidently expected that a good available route to the 
interior will be found to exist. No doubt attention was 
drawn to this spot not a little from the fact, that years ago 
Sir Alexander McKenzie did actually penetrate from the 
interior to the sea here. Subsequently it was known that a 
Mr. McDonald had found his way from Fort Fraser to the 
coast, coming out at Deans Canal, and, it was said, making 
the journey with ease and expedition ; while later, letters 
were conveyed more than once by some such route, by 
Indian messengers, from the Hudson Bay Company's steamer 
' Beaver,' lying in the Bentinck Arm, to the officer in charge 
of Fort Alexandria, high up the Fraser Kiver. 

When Sir Alexander McKenzie explored this part of the 
country, he appears to have ascended the West-road Biver 
from the Fraser, and then, crossing the ridge forming the 
watershed, to have descended to the sea. His route has 
never been exactly followed ; but in 1860 Mr. Colin McKenzie 
crossed from Alexandria to the same place on the coast, viz., 
^Bascals' Village, or Bell-houla Bay,* in thirteen days by way 

* This is sometimes spelt Bell-whoak. 



Chap. VII. MR. BARNSTON'S LETTER. 147 

of Chilcotin Lake. His party travelled the greater portion 
of the way on horseback : Mr. McKenzie told me that they 
might have taken their animals all the way by changing 
the route a little. On their way back, indeed, they did so. 
The ascent to the watershed was, he said, so gradual, that 
they only knew they had passed the summit by finding that 
the streams ran west, instead of east. Since that time 
another gentleman, Mr. Barnston, has travelled by much the 
same route. His journey is described in a letter which he 
wrote to Mr. P. Nind, Gold Commissioner at Cariboo, in 
July, 1861, and which, as illustrating the character of the 
country and the obstacles met with in the construction of 
trails, I am enabled, by the kind permission of that gentle- 
man, to give to the reader : — 

" We left Alexandria on the 24th May last, and after the 
loss of several days from accidental causes, such as missing 
trail, &c, arrived at Lake Anawhim on the 8th June. We 
left this place on the 10th. On the 12th we camped in the 
Coast Kange. On the 13th we descended into the valley of 
Atanaioh, or Bell-houla River, and camped a few miles down. 
Here we left our horses with Pearson and Ritchie. On the 
evening of the 17th McDonald and I, accompanied by Tom- 
kins, started on foot for the coast. We arrived at the Bell- 
houla village, Nout-chaoff, early on the morning of the 19th. 
Here we obtained a canoe and descended to Kougotis, the 
head of the Bell-houla (North Bentinck Arm), in six hours. 
The cause of our horses being left behind was the swollen 
state of the mountain-torrents running into the Bell-houla 
River. These streams are, however, quite small and narrow, 
and could be bridged at little expense. On the 24th we left 
Kougotis to return in the same canoe, and arrived at Nout- 
chaoff on the 25th. The trail between the two villages is 
good. From Nout-chaoff to camp it took us two days, a 
distance usually travelled by Indians with packs in one. On 
the 30th we broke up camp on Bell-houla River, and arrived 

l 2 



148 MR. BARNSTON'S LETTER. Chap. VII. 

in Alexandria on the 10th, travelling moderately with packed 
animals. The Bell-houla River could be made navigable for 
light-draught steamers as far up as Nout-chaoff, and perhaps 
above. From thence pack-trains could make Alexandria, or 
the mouth of Canal River,* if a trail were made there, easily 
in 14 or 15 days. The trail to Canal River would probably 
have to diverge from the Alexandria trail at Chisikut Lake 
about 75 miles from Alexandria. The trail runs the whole 
distance from Alexandria to Coast Range on a kind of 
table-land, which is studded in every direction with lakes 
and meadows : feed is plentiful. The streams are numerous, 
but small and shallow ; in fact, mere creeks. There are 
some swamps, which require corduroying. There is plenty 
of fallen timber ; but it is light and could easily be cleared. 
There is also a kind of red earth, which is in places very 
miry ; the cause of this is I think, want of drainage. This 
miry ground and the swamps are the greatest objections 
that can be urged against the road. The swamps, however, 
have one advantage over such places generally, — that is, in 
their foundation, which is rocky and strong. The trail 
might be shortened in some places, but not a great deal. 
We made the distance from our camp on Bell-houla Tliver 
to Alexandria easily enough in 11 days with packed horses. 
The trail is, with the exception of the descent of the Coast 
Range, comparatively level, and could easily be made a good 
practicable road. The descent on to the Bell-houla River is 
not by any means steep, with the exception of a slide, down 
which we, however, took our horses. This slide might be 
avoided, or could be easily overcome by a zigzag trail. The 
trail would have to be considerably improved before pack- 
trains could pass over it. When the Coast Range is passed 
there is no perceptible ascent. 

" From the place where you first strike the Bell-houla River 
in the Coast Range, the trail runs along its bank through a 

* Probably Qucsnelle River. 



Chap. VII. ROUTES TO THE INTERIOR. 149 

deep gorge or pass in the mountains the whole way to the 
coast. There is, however, another road from Lake Anawhim, 
which strikes the river at Nout-chaoff, which the Indians 
informed us was the better road. They also told us that if we 
had taken this road we could have reached Nout-chaoff with 
our horses, as we should have thereby avoided the worst part 
of the other road and the torrents. Kougotis, the head of the 
inlet, would be the head of navigation for sea-going vessels. 

" We think that if a road were made from the Bell-houla 
Inlet, to strike the Fraser somewhere about the mouth of the 
Quesnelle River, and from thence into the Cariboo, &c, a con- 
siderable saving in the cost of transportation would be effected. 
We can hardly make an approximate estimate even of what 
it would cost to make the trail passable ; but it would not 
.cost much considering the distance and style of country, and 
could easily be made available for next summer's operations." 

If .the reader will follow on the map the line between the 
Bentinck Arm (Bell-houla) and Alexandria, he will see that it 
runs straight east and west between the two places for 100 
miles. This is the route to the gold-fields, south of that 
taken by Sir A. McKenzie, which is proposed to be adopted, 
and to open up which another company, in opposition to the 
Bute Inlet scheme, has been organised. It is affirmed 
that the road becomes open and practicable for animals 
in the beginning of April, and that the snow at Bell- 
houla and the main plateau above it disappears early in the 
year. At present and for some time to come no accommoda- 
tion for travellers can be expected along this route ; but in 
reply to this objection it is urged that the journey is com- 
paratively short, and may be walked without a pack in seven 
days ; and that the Indians of the various tribes through which 
it will be necessary to pass are not only friendly but seem 
anxious for white settlers to come, inquiring constantly when 
the Boston and King George men may be expected, and looking 
forward to remunerative employment in packing to the mines. 



150 EOUTES TO THE INTERIOR. Chap. VII. 

The following account of this route has also been given by 
one of its projectors, who assumes to speak from personal ex- 
perience : — " My suggestion would be, let a man take up suffi- 
cient provisions for the road ; or if he wishes to avoid the heavy 
outlay which a poor miner must experience before he has 
struck a claim, let him take sufficient to last him three or 
four weeks, and pack one, two, or three Indians, as the case 
may be. I assure him he will find no difficulty in pro- 
curing Indians. Nootlioch (an Indian lodge) is 30 miles up 
the river; for 15 miles above this goods can be taken in 
small canoes. Narcoontloon is 30 miles ; a good road with 
the exception of one bad hill. Here there is another Indian 
lodge, from which it is 50 miles to Chilcotin; good trail, 
perfectly level From there it is 60 miles to Alexandria, 
or about 70 to the mouth of Quesnelle Eiver. The trail 
from the top of the Nootlioch hill is for foot-passengers as 
good the whole way as any part of the Brigade Trail, with the 
exception of one or two places, where there is a little fallen 
timber. The trail follows a chain of lakes, and could conse- 
quently, if taken straight, be made much shorter, and also 
avoid much soft ground. Game and fish are abundant on the 
road : I caught several trout with a string and a small hook 
and a grasshopper on my way down. The Aunghim and 
Chilcotin Indians have a good many horses, which might be 
turned to use for packing." 

Alexandria, however, which is the proposed terminus in 
this route from Bell-houla, is some 50 or 60 miles south of 
those diggings, which are now the most profitable in the 
country, and which, under the general name of the Cariboo 
gold-fields, extend from the lake of that name to Bear Kiver, 
and are likely to extend still farther north, should the 
opinion of many of the miners that the richest diggings still 
remain to be found on the Peace Biver, northward of that 
spur of the Rocky Mountains, which turns the course of the 
Fraser southward, prove correct. It seems, therefore, likely 



Chap. VII. ROUTES TO THE INTERIOR. 151 

that the line of route proposed by other adventurers, running 
from Dean's Canal, in a north-easterly direction, to the 
Nachuten Lakes, and along the river of the same name to 
Fort Fraser, may bear off the palm, particularly if, as is very 
probable, Stuart Kiver be found navigable for steamers from 
that place to Fort George, where it meets the Fraser. 

In the summer of 1859 Mr. Downie explored a still more 
northward route from Fort Essington, by a river called by him 
the Skena, but which must be the same as that known inland 
as the Simpson or Babine, and which flows from Lake Babine. 
This route is less direct than any of the others, and is so far 
north as to be unavailable for the greater part of the year. 
Mr. Downie's interesting account of this journey will be 
found in the Appendix. It will be seen that he reports the 
country through which he travelled to be auriferous, that he 
found evidence of most extensive deposits of coal of a quality 
superior to any specimen of that mineral which he had pre- 
viously seen in British Columbia and Vancouver Island, and 
that the land generally seemed excellent and well adapted for 
agricultural purposes. 

Forty miles north of Port Essington, and 240 from the 
north end of Vancouver Island, Fort Simpson is reached, 
winch is situated as nearly as possible upon the line of boun- 
dary between Great Britain and Bussia. This post has been 
established for many years, and is surrounded somewhat thickly 
by Indians, among whom Mr. Duncan ; the missionary teacher, 
of whose self-denying life and valuable labours I shall here- 
after have occasion to speak at greater length, works with 
such singular success. 

From the 25th August to the 30th September we were 
employed among the inner channels between Nanaimo and 
Victoria, and in putting down a set of buoys on the sands at 
the entrance of the Fraser Kiver. On the islands in these 
inner channels there are now several agricultural settlements, 
the principal one being on Admiral Island, an island fourteen 



152 COWITCHIN HARBOUR. * Chap. VII. 

miles long by four or five wide, having two or three excellent 
harbours, and containing much good land. On this island 
there are saltsprings. 

Admiral Island is next to Vancouver, from which it is 
separated by a narrow strait, called Sausum Narrows, which 
at its narrowest part is little more than half-a-mile wide. 

Four miles west of the south part of Admiral Island, Cape 
Keppel, is Cowitchin Harbour. As a harbour this is not 
worth much ; but it will be of importance when the Cowitchin 
Valley, which runs back from it, becomes settled. This 
valley is the most extensive yet discovered on the island, 
and is reported by the colonial officers who surveyed it to 
contain 30,000 or 40,000 acres of good land. It is peopled 
by the Cowitchin tribe of Indians, who, as I have mentioned, 
are considered a badly-disposed set, and have shown no favour 
to those settlers who have visited their valley. Although it 
has been surveyed it cannot yet be settled, as the Indians 
are unwilling to sell, still less to be ousted from their 
land. Through this valley runs the Cowitchin River, which 
comes from a large lake of the same name, and 24 miles 
inland, and empties itself into the head of Cowitchin Har- 
bour. It is navigable for several miles for canoes. Between 
Cowitchin and Nanaimo there is a considerable quantity 
of good land, which has been surveyed and is called the 
Chemanos district. 

Immediately south of Cowitchin Harbour is the Saanich 
Inlet, a deep indentation running 14 miles in a south-south-east 
direction, carrying deep water to its head, and terminating 
in a narrow creek within four miles of Esquimalt Harbour. 
This inlet forms a peninsula of the south-east portion of Van- 
couver Island of about 20 miles in a north-north-west and south- 
south-east direction, and varying in breadth from eight miles 
at its southern part to three at its northern. On the southern 
coast of this peninsula are the harbours of Esquimalt and 
Victoria, in the neighbourhood of which for some five miles 



CHAr. VII. START FOR SAN FRANCISCO. 153 

the country is pretty thickly wooded — its prevailing features 
lake and mountain — with, however, some considerable tracts 
of clear and fertile land. The northern portion for about 
ten miles contains some of the best agricultural land in Van- 
couver Island. The coast here, as everywhere else, is fringed 
with pine ; but in the centre it is clear prairie or oak- land, 
most of it now under cultivation. Seams of coal have also 
been found here. On the eastern or peninsular side of the 
inlet are some good anchorages, the centre being for the most 
part deep. A mile and a half from the head of the inlet is a 
large lake, called Langford Lake, which is very likely to be 
called into requisition some day to supply the ships in Esqui- 
mau Harbour, from which it is two miles and a half distant, 
with water. Outside the Saanich peninsula is Cordova Chan- 
nel, extending to Discovery Island, seven miles from Victoria. 
Like all these inner passages, this one is quite safe for 
steamers, but, from the varying currents, dangerous for sailing 
vessels. As several farms have been established along the 
shore of the island here, looking out on the Haro Strait, and 
the land is much more clear than usual, this is one of the 
prettiest parts of the island. 

On the 30th September the Admiral (Sir R. L. Baynes, 
K.C.B.), came on board, and we took him to Xanaimo and 
Burrard Inlet, returning to Esquimalt on the 4th October. 
From this time until the 28th we continued working north- 
ward from Nanaimo, when, having been drenched to the skin 
nearly every day for a month, the captain determined to close 
the season's operations, and we made for Nanaimo. Here we 
found — what was not unfrequently the case — that the Indians 
were all more or less drunk, owing to a grand feast which had 
been given by the chief of the tribe a few days before, and 
that they would not get the coal out of the pit for us : we had, 
therefore, to help ourselves. 

On the 10th of February, 1860, having brought our winter 
duties to an end, we started for San Francisco, and anchored 



154 SCARCITY OF TIMBER. Chap. VII. 

that night in Neah Bay, of which I have spoken in describing 
the Strait of Fuca. Next morning we proceeded out of the 
Strait, passing several vessels on their way in. The sight of 
these vessels could scarcely fail to remind us of the colony 
which had sprung into existence since we had rounded Cape 
Flattery and entered that Strait three years before, when we 
might have steamed up and down it for a week without meet- 
ing more than a few vessels, and those bound to American 
ports. In the passage between San Francisco and Vancouver 
Island there is nothing worthy of particular notice, except 
the change from the everlasting pine-trees which fringe all 
our shore, to the almost treeless coast of California. One 
cannot help feeling that Nature has been unfair in its distri- 
bution of timber in these regions. California, comparatively 
speaking, may be said to have none, all their plank being 
supplied from the saw-mills before spoken of as being at 
work in Puget Sound and Admiralty Inlet. It was with 
considerable difficulty and at great expense that they managed 
to get sufficient wood to build a small steamer, ordered by the 
Federal Government to be constructed at Mare Island, the 
dockyard of San Francisco. The coast all the way down is 
well lighted, but there are no good harbours ; San Fran- 
cisco, indeed, is the only good one between the Strait of Fuca 
and Acapulco, which is 1500 miles below it, on the coast of 
Mexico, although there are several open anchorages. The 
distance from Cape Flattery to the Golden Gate, as the 
entrance of San Francisco harbour is called, is 700 miles, 
and the mail-steamers make the passage generally in three 
days and a half to five days. We, however, were under sail 
much of our time, and did not make it until seven days 
after leaving Esquimalt. On the morning of the 17th we 
sighted the noble head, the name of which has been changed 
from " Punta de Los Keyes " — the grand name the old 
Spaniards had given it — to " Point Reyes " — and crossing 
the bar, entered the harbour at four in the afternoon. 



Chap. VII. SAN FRANCISCO. 155 

Nothing can be finer than the entrance to this magnificent 
harbour ; and, considering also the country of which it is the 
only port, its name of " Golden Gate " is very appropriate, 
although the name was given to it long before the discovery 
of gold in California. It had reference, no doubt, to the 
beauty of the country generally, and to the golden appear- 
ance it wears in spring, before the parching summer sun has 
scorched its verdure. 

Fifteen miles off the harbour is a group of rocky islands, 
called the Farrallones, on the southern of which is a light- 
house. Off the entrance of the harbour is the "Bar," on 
which the surf is generally rough. This bar, however, serves 
to let the mariner know he is off the entrance if he is trying 
to make the harbour in a fog ; which, as they prevail con- 
stantly from May till October, he is very likely to do. The 
current in the entrance varies from two to five knots. There 
are two lighthouses at the mouth of the harbour, and on the 
hill above, on each side, is a telegraph-station. The constant 
fogs make this of little use, as ships are always slipping in 
and out without their arrival or departure being known. 
When we went in H.M.S. < Hecate/ in October, 1861, nobody 
knew anything of our arrival till some of the officers appeared 
at the club. Generally speaking, how r ever, vessels arriving 
are seen as they pass Alcatraz Island, which lies in the 
middle of the harbour, and is a military station. Although 
some attempt has been made to fortify San Francisco, it is 
still very imperfect in this respect. The only defensive 
works as yet existing are, a brick fort on the south side of 
the entrance, intended to carry 140 guns, in three tiers of 
casemates, and one tier en barbette. A battery, intended to 
mount eleven heavy guns, is being constructed on the hill 
above this fort. Alcatraz Island, in the middle of the 
harbour, is partially fortified ; and as the guns on this island 
are 150 feet above the sea, it would be an awkward place to 
attack with ships. This island is about three miles and a half 



156 SAN FRANCISCO. Chap. VII. 

from Fort Point ; it is a small place, about 550 yards long, 
by 150 yards wide. Their guns are all en barbette, and number 
about 100. There is no water on the island, and they have 
to supply it from Saucelito Bay, five or six miles distant, and 
keep it in a large tank, said to hold 50,000 gallons. 

I had last visited San Francisco in 1849, when the gold- 
fever was at its height, and there were only a dozen houses in 
the place, the 5000 or 6000 inhabitants being scattered about 
in tents. At that time the site of the present magnificent 
city was a bare sand-hill. In those days the harbour was 
filled with merchant-ships, as now ; but although they entered 
in great numbers, few went out, both officers and men desert- 
ing the ships for the diggings as soon as the anchors were let 
go, and leaving their cargoes to be unloaded by others. Where 
these vessels used then to be anchored fine streets have been 
erected, for all the lower part of San Francisco is built out 
over the harbour. Many accidents are constantly occurring 
from the insecure way in which these streets are left. It is 
dangerous to go down to the wharves after dark, from the 
large holes left exposed, through which many poor fellows 
have fallen and been killed. Constant actions are being 
brought against the Town Council on this account. Greenhow, 
the American historian, was killed by falling through one of 
these places, and his widow brought, an action against the 
Town Council, recovering the sum of 10,000 dollars for 
her loss. 

San Francisco has been twice burnt down in the twelve 
years during which it has been in existence. These fires 
have been most beneficial to the town, as most of the wooden 
buildings which were destroyed have been replaced by very 
fine brick ones. Montgomery Street, the principal thorough- 
fare in the town, is now almost as fine a street as any European 
capital can boast of; equal, indeed, in the size of the build- 
ings and magnificence of the shops, to the best thoroughfares 
of London. No city in the world has, I imagine, a history so 



Chap. VII. VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. 157 

short and wonderful as San Francisco. In February, 1 849, 
the population was about 2000 : in the middle of the same 
year it had risen to 5000 ; while it is stated that from April, 
1849, to January, 1850, nearly 40,000 emigrants arrived, of 
which only 1500 were women. By the year 1860, the popula- 
tion had risen to 66,000. In addition to these, thousands 
went to the mines direct, many crossing the continent and 
the Sierra Nevada, where hundreds left their bones to bleach 
among the mountains. 

Among the thousands who hurried to California from 
every part of the world, it may be imagined there were many 
of the very dregs of society. Convicted felons from our 
penal colonies — every one, indeed, whose own country was 
too hot for him, hastened hither. Murders, incendiarisms, 
and every kind of crime were being daily perpetrated ; no 
decent man dared to walk the streets after dark, and no 
property was safe. Law there was not; and where two- 
thirds of the population were scoundrels, it may be imagined 
what class of public officials would be elected under the 
system of universal suffrage. What, therefore, between the 
weakness or partiality of the judges, the technicalities of 
the law, the dishonesty of the juries, and the dread of 
witnesses to tender their evidence, San Francisco, in 1851, 
was suffering from anarchy unparalleled in modern history. 
It was this social condition of the city that caused the 
organisation of that most remarkable society, the " Vigilance 
Committee," to which I have had occasion to allude in a 
former chapter. 

This association was formed in June, 1851, ."for the 
protection of the lives and property of citizens resident in 
the city of San Francisco." A council was appointed and 
a place of meeting fixed, while the tolling of the bell of the 
Monumental Fire Engine Company was the signal for 
assembly. Although the "Vigilance Committee" has for 
several years now allowed the law of the land to take its 



158 VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. Chap. VII. 

course, it still exists, and is ready to assemble whenever the 
signal may be given. " What has become of your Vigilance 
Committee," I asked one of them when I was in San 
Francisco in October last. " Toll the bell, Sir, and you will 
see," was the reply. " Oh, then you are still under orders ? " 
" Always ready at the signal, Sir. If it were now given, you 
would see thousands at the meeting-place before the bell had 
ceased to sound." 

There is no doubt that this strange organisation exer- 
cised, and still exercises, a most wholesome restraint over 
a society that, but a few years since, elected a miner to 
be chief judge of the State, and whose two principal judges 
now go by the significant sobriquets of " Mammon " and 
" Gammon." The first proceeding of the committee in the 
summer of 1851 was to arrest, try, and hang four men, three 
of whom confessed their crimes, while the fourth was, I 
believe, undoubtedly guilty. The moral effect of this pro- 
ceeding was wonderful. All the other towns, which were 
rising all over the State, formed Vigilance Committees of 
their own. Many known ruffians, whose crimes could not be 
brought home to them, were ordered to leave the State; 
while others were kept in surveillance, and reported from 
Committee to Committee as they traversed the country. 
For years after this California was almost free of crime. 
Although by the greater number of the people the Vigilance 
Committee was held in favour, the officials and some others 
denounced it, and to this day stigmatise its existence as a 
disgrace to California. These termed themselves the "Law 
and Order " party ; but upon many occasions then weakness 
to restrain the mixed and dangerous population of San 
Francisco was made apparent. 

I have entered more fully into the history of San Francisco 
than I otherwise should have done, since I think a valuable 
and fair comparison may be drawn between these scenes 
and the peaceable course of British Columbia since the 




UNITED STATES DOCKYARD, MAIIE ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCO. 



Chap. VII. SECTIONAL DOCK. 159 

discovery of gold there five years ago. The reader unac- 
quainted with the past history of California, would scarcely 
credit the fearful scenes through which she has reached her 
present growth. 

If San Francisco were the only city in California, its 
dimensions would not, perhaps, be so surprising ; but it is 
only one of many, almost as large and equally beautiful, in 
the State. Sacramento, the seat of government, Stockton, 
and others, vie with it in size, while Marysville, Benicia, Los 
Angelos, &c, are far more beautifully situated. 

After a few days' stay off San Francisco, we proceeded to 
Mare Island, where the Government dockyard is established. 
Mare Island is 23 miles from San Francisco, across San 
Pablo Bay, and at the mouth of the Sacramento. Here we 
were received by the American naval officers, and imme- 
diately put on the dock. 

It may be interesting to some of my readers if I here say 
something of a Sectional Dock, such as that we were now 
placed upon, and which, though generally used in America, 
is very little known, and still less liked, in this country. In 
a new country where there is plenty of timber, this kind of 
dock has one great advantage, in its cheapness and facility 
of construction, compared with the ordinary stone docks. But 
in California, where, as I have before said, there is very little 
timber, a stone dock might have been constructed almost as 
cheaply. The dock of which I am speaking had to be built 
at Pensacola, and then taken to pieces, and sent out to 
California at an expense, I was there told, of about 70,000 
dollars (15,000Z.) 

The Sectional Dock is composed of a series of sections, or 
iron tanks, each being fitted with a complete pumping- 
apparatus, elevated on a framework 60 or 80 feet above 
the top of the tank. These tanks are fitted with gates, 
like the caissons used in English docks, so that they can 



160 SECTIONAL DOCK. Chap. VII. 

be filled, sunk, or again pumped out at pleasure. A number 
of these sections, varying according to the weight and 
length of the ship to be lifted, are securely chained together, 
and the whole is moored in water sufficiently deep to allow 
of their being sunk beneath the vessel's keel. They are 
generally kept level with the water's edge; but when a 
vessel is to be docked, they are sunk low enough to allow 
her to come over the blocks which are placed along the 
centre. The vessel is then hauled over the blocks, the 
pumps started, and, as she rises, shores from the sides of the 
tanks, and from the frames of the pump-houses, are placed 
under her and against her sides, and she is gradually raised 
till her keel is out of the water. If proper care is taken, 
these docks are quite safe, but the ship must be placed 
cautiously on the blocks, or an accident is very likely to 
happen. In 1860 H.M.S. ' Termagant' was allowed to fall 
over in this dock, and was for some time in great danger. 
Her stern was allowed to rest on the edge of one of the 
sections, which, as her weight came upon it, rose up and 
turned over. This canted the ship, and she fell with her 
masts against the pump-houses. Fortunately she had only 
been raised a little way; had she been further out of the 
water, she would probably have broken down the pump- 
houses, and very likely sunk. One advantage possessed, by 
these docks is, that the ship being, as it were, raised into 
the air, there is better light for working at her bottom than 
in a stone dock. 

While at San Francisco we had, of course, many oppor- 
tunities of remarking those peculiar habits of manner and 
phraseology indulged in by the Americans. At Victoria, 
peopled as it is by Americans, we had been made familiar 
with them ; but here they were more commonly and glaringly 
used. Certainly, they justify anything that Mr. Dickens 
or other English satirists have written of them. Americans 



Chap. VII. AMERICAN PHRASEOLOGY. 161 

all say — not, however, with perfect truth — that these eccen- 
tricities belong only to the lower orders of society. I have 
the pleasure of knowing both American gentlemen and ladies 
quite free from their use ; but still I have met many others, 
holding good positions in society, thoroughly " Yankee " in 
tone and expression. These Americanisms must lose much 
of their ludicrous effect by being written, as it is impossible 
to give the tone and peculiar emphasis of the speaker. Words 
are often used by them to convey a sense entirely different 
to that which we apply to them. Thus, " I'll happen in 
directly " is considered rather a good expression for a contem- 
plated visit. So, " clever " doe3 not imply any talent in the 
individual of whom it is spoken, but is said of a good-natured, 
gentlemanly man generally ; while " smart " answers for our 
" clever." Speaking to an American naval officer, just 
before leaving Victoria for San Francisco, he said, "Well, 
sir, " I guess you'll have quite an elegant time down there. 
Elegant place, sir, San Francisco." A very pretty young 
lady, living in Puget Sound, and happening to be on board 
the 'Plumper,' said to one of the officers: "Well, sir, if you 
come over to Steilacoom, I guess you shall have a tall horse- 
back ride ;" by which form of expression she meant to imply, 
not that the horse should be longer in the legs than is usual, 
but that care should be taken that the ride should be more 
than ordinarily agreeable. In a book on Americanisms, pub- 
lished last year, a Baltimore young lady is represented as 
jumping up from her seat on being asked to dance, and 
saying, " Yes, sirree ; for I have sot, and sot, and sot, till I've 
nigh tuk root ! " I cannot say I have heard anything quite 
equal to this ; but I very well remember that at a party 
given on board one of the ships at Esquimalt, a young lady 
declined to dance a "fancy" dance, upon the plea, "I'd 
rather not, sir ; I guess I'm not fixed up for waltzing ;" — an 
expression the particular meaning of which must be left to 
readers of her own sex to decide. An English young lady, 

M 



162 AMERICAN PHRASEOLOGY. Chai>. VII. 

who was staying at one of the houses at Mare Island, when 
we were there, happened one evening, when we were visiting 
her friends, to be confined to her room with a headache. 
Upon our arrival, the young daughter of our host — a girl of 
about twelve — went up to her to try to persuade her to come 
down. " Well," she said, " I'm real sorry you're so poorly. 
You'd better come, for there are some almighty swells down 
there ! " A lady, speaking of the same person, said, " Her 
hair, sir, took my fancy right away ! " Again, several of 
us were one day talking to a tall, slight young lady about the 
then new-fashioned crinoline which she was wearing. After 
a little banter, she said, " I guess, Captain, if you were to 
take my hoops off, you might draw me through the eye of a 
needle ! " 

Perhaps one of the most whimsical of these curiosities of 
expression, combining freedom of manner with that of speech, 
was made use of to Captain Eichards by a master-caulker. 
He had been vainly endeavouring to persuade the Captain 
that the ship required caulking, and at last he said in disgust, 
" You may be liberal as a private citizen, Captain, but you're 
mean to an almighty pump-tack ! " — in his official capacity, of 
course. Again, an American gentleman on board one of our 
mail packets was trying to recall to the recollection of the 
mail agent a lady who had been fellow-passenger with them 
on a former occasion. " She sat opposite you at table all the 
voyage," he said. " Oh, I think I remember her ; she ate a 
great deal, did she not ? " " Eat, sir ! " was the reply, " she 
was a perfect gastronomic filibuster ! " One more example, 
and I have done with a subject upon which I might enlarge 
for pages. The boys at the school at Victoria were being 
examined in Scripture, and the question was asked, "In 
what way did Hiram assist Solomon in the building of the 
Temple ? " It passed two or three boys, when at last one 
sharp little fellow triumphantly exclaimed, "Please, sir, he 
donated him the lumber." 



Chap. VII. HABITS OF DRINKING. 163 

Hardly less remarkable than their peculiarities of language 
is their habit of taking drinks with remarkable names from 
morning till night. No bargain can be made, no friend- 
ship cemented — in fact, no meeting can take place — without 
" liquoring up." The morning is commenced with a brandy, 
or champagne, cocktail, not unfrequently taken in bed. 
This is continued, at short intervals, until bedtime again, 
and no excuse will avail you unless you can say you are a 
" dashaway," which is their name for a total abstainer. This 
habit, I must say, does not extend so high in the social scale 
as the other ; it is, however, the great social failing of the 
Western States. 

The repairs of the slnp were finished, and on the 9th March 
we left San Francisco to return to our work ; little thinking 
that in scarcely more than a year we should revisit it again 
with another ship in a worse state than we had brought the 
' Plumper.' 



M 



164 DIFFICULTIES IN PURCHASING Chap. VIII. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Johnstone Strait — The North-East ofVancouver Isl an d — Fort Rupert and 
Queen Charlotte Sound. 

On the 5th of April we left Esquimalt to commence the sum- 
mer work, and proceeded to Nanaimo to fill up with coal. 
On our way we stopped at the northern settlement on Admiral 
Island, as it had been reported that some Indians had been 
troublesome there. We found, however, that the Indians 
had done nothing more than tell the settlers occasionally, as 
Indians do everywhere, that they (the whites) had no busi- 
ness there except as their guests, and that all the land be- 
longed to them. At the Ganges Harbour settlement some 
of the black settlers had been robbed by them. The Indians 
always stedfastly refused to regard black men as entitled to 
any of the respect claimed by and shown to the whites. They 
also entertain the same feeling with regard to the Chinese. I 
remember an Indian once asking me about them, and saying, 
" Wake, wake ! " (" No, no ! " ), most decidedly, when I told 
him they were " earqua King George men " (" the same as 
Englishmen " ). 

It appeared to be most desirable here, as at other places, 
that the Indians should be duly paid for their land. This is 
not so simple as it may seem, however, even supposing the 
money necessary for such a purpose to be forthcoming. In 
New Zealand the Government spent many thousand pounds 
purchasing the land, appointing agents, commissioners, &c, 
and something of the same is no doubt as necessary here. 
Vancouver Island, however, has no revenue available or suffi- 
cient for such a purpose, and of course the revenue of British 
Columbia cannot, while the two colonies are distinct, be 
applied to it. Another difficulty would be found in the con- 



Chap. VIIT. LAND FROM THE INDIANS. 165 

flicting claims of the various tribes, arising from their habits 
of polygamy and inheritance from the female side, together 
with the absence of any documentary or satisfactory evidence 
of title. 

If, therefore, any one chief or tribe were paid for a piece 
of land without the acknowledgment on the part of adjacent 
tribes of the vendor's right to the land sold, five or six other 
claimants would in all probability come forward asserting the 
land to be theirs, and founding their title to it upon some 
intermarriage of its former possessors. The difficulties aris- 
ing from the Indian custom of descent from the female side 
are most perplexing. Mr. Weynton, of the Hudson Bay 
Company, who resided some years at Fort Rupert, told me 
he had known, on the death of a chief, a man from quite 
another tribe step in and take the chieftainship, without, so 
far as he could ascertain, any close connection with the tribe 
he claimed to rule. Admiral Island, for instance, of which 
I am now speaking, would, in all probability, be claimed by 
no less than four tribes, viz., the Cowitchin, the^Penalikut- 
son, a small tribe living among these islands, the Nanaimos, 
and Saanitch Indians. On the occasion of our present visit, 
the settlers, in reference to this subject, said the Indians had 
never been there before, and that they had established a 
village there for the sole purpose of asserting their claim to 
compensation for the land. Upon our telling one of them 
this, he pointed to a small stump by which we were stand- 
ing, and said it marked his father's grave, where he had 
buried him three years ago — long before any white settler 
came to the place. 

From Nanaimo we went to the Qualicome River, from 
which a trail leads across the island to the head of the Alberni 
Canal, which runs up from Barclay Sound on the west coast. 
Between Nanaimo and Qualicome, and twenty miles from 
the former, is the magnificent harbour of Nanoose. The 
Nanoose district, as the neighbourhood of this harbour is 



106 JOURNEYS FROM ALBERNI TO NANAIMO. Chap. VIII. 

called, contains a considerable quantity of very good land. 
In the course of a journey I made in the following year from 
the Alberni settlement to Nanaimo, I passed over this dis- 
trict, and found a large quantity of land well adapted for 
settlement. Some parts of it are rather light and stony, and 
there are a few swamps ; but the greater portion is rich black 
vegetable mould, lightly timbered, and well watered by the 
Nanoose Elver, which runs into the harbour, and by several 
smaller streams. From Qualicome to Alberni the distance 
in a straight line is only twelve miles, this being the nar- 
rowest part of the island, except at the very northern end, 
where Quatsinough Inlet runs in from the west side to within 
seven miles of Beaver harbour on the east, in which Fort 
Rupert is situated. 

In the year 1859 Captain Richards crossed the island from 
Qualicome to Alberni, before the settlement at the latter 
place was established, in company with one of the Hudson 
Bay Company's agents, who goes there every year to pur- 
chase sea-otter skins, &c, from the natives of the west side. 
He found that, after ascending the Qualicome River for 
some four or five miles and crossing a ridge 600 or 800 
feet high, they came to a lake six miles long, called 
Home Lake. This they crossed in a canoe which the 
Indians kept there on purpose for Mr. Home, the Hudson 
Bay Company's agent, to make his annual trip in, and theu, 
ascending the ridge at its western end, they looked down on 
the Alberni Canal five miles off. The ridge to the summit 
of which they ascended has since been named " Steep Ridge." 
It lies across the head of the Alberni, and the ascent from 
Home Lake to its summit was so steep that Captain Richards 
was convinced that, however well it might answer as a trail 
for foot-travellers, it could never be used as a roadway. In 
the summer following that of which I am now writing, and 
two years after Captain Richards had examined this route, 
we happened to be engaged in surveying Barclay Sound and 



Chap. VIII. DILATORINESS OF INDIANS IN STARTING. 167 

the Alberni Canal. The Governor having expressed a great 
desire to find a way of connecting the settlement then 
becoming established at Alberni with Nanaimo, by crossing 
the mainland instead of sailing round the island, I was 
instructed by Captain Eichards to ascertain whether a way 
existed across the island to Nanaimo by a valley that 
seemed to be more favourable for the purpose than that 
which he had previously traversed from Home Lake. Al- 
though, as I have said, this journey did not take place till a 
year after the period of which I am now writing, it will 
perhaps be desirable to describe it here, since it relates to 
the part of the island now under consideration. 

On the 29th April, 1861, therefore, having made all neces- 
sary arrangements, we left the settlement at Alberni to make 
our way to Nanaimo, a distance as the crow flies of about 40 
miles. Our party consisted of six Somass Indians, Mr. Bamfield, 
the Indian agent at Barclay Sound, and one Koyal Marine 
from H.M.S. ' Hecate." I have before spoken of the difficulty 
of effecting a start with Indians, and on this occasion more 
than ordinary trouble was experienced. It was still early 
spring, so that while the Indian's winter stock of provisions 
was exhausted, the berries upon which he relied for sub- 
sistence were not yet in season ; and they were living from 
hand to mouth on what they could shoot and their daily haul 
of fish. The consequence of this was, that before I could 
induce any of the Indians to accompany us, I had to make 
arrangements for the provisioning of their wives during their 
absence, and to give an undertaking that Captain Stamp, the 
gentleman in charge of the saw-mills, would see to their being 
provided with food if our journey to Nanaimo and back should 
chance to exceed the estimated time. I refused on this occa- 
sion to recognise more than one wife to each of the Indian 
guides, although I was aware that some had more ; but even 
this arrangement — which is, however, absolutely necessary — 
adds much to the expense and trouble of such journeys. 



168 DILATORINESS OF INDIANS IN STARTING. Chap. VIII. 

After everything lias been settled, farewells said, and the 
packs distributed and arranged — always a matter of much 
consideration — the mere process of getting under weigh will 
often occupy two or three hours. First, one fellow will make 
the discovery that he is not provided with " scaarlux " 
(breeches), and that he will be torn by the bushes. His 
want met, another will plead the need of mocassins, and 
although it is pretty certain he will make no use of them, 
a pair of shoes has to be found for him somehow. Powder 
and shot will next be applied for, and matches must be 
served out all round. When at last stirred by the strongest 
expressions of which the Chinook vocabulary is capable, 
some sort of a start is made, the leader will find that his 
mocassins are imperfectly laced, or his pack not perfectly 
balanced, or, if he happens to have his shoes on, he decides 
to take them off. Down he squats, the whole party follow- 
ing his example, and when you overtake them, you find them 
a few hundred yards from the starting-place, seated in a row, 
talking with the utmost animation and unconcern of the 
journey before them. Time, of course, they set no value on, 
and it is a great thing to get two or three miles of a journey 
over in the first day, or even to camp for the night at a suffi- 
cient distance from their village. The starting over, how- 
ever, and once fairly in the bush, all goes well enough. 

Upon this occasion, however, our difficulties did not end 
with the first night's camping, for our journey lay through a 
country over which none of the Indians had ever travelled. 
After their fashion, therefore, they declared it to be impene- 
trable, and but for one old hunter, who supported and 
expressed a determination to follow me, I do not think I 
should have induced them to remain with me. As it was we 
had not proceeded far on the second day's journey when one 
of the Indians complained of being ill, and desired to return. 
He was evidently ill, but it would never have done to have 
allowed one of them to turn back just then, so I proceeded to 



Chap. VIII. AN ELK SHOT. 169 

abuse him to the full extent of my knowledge of Chinook, 
upbraiding him with being " carqua klootcluman," — " like a 
woman," — and finally dismissing him with a note of explanation 
to Captain Stamp, in which I said that I was sorry he should 
have sent a woman instead of a man with me. I took care 
to read this note out aloud, and it had the desired effect of 
making him ashamed, and the others laugh ; whereupon the 
sick man shouldered his load and completed the journey 
without another word of complaint. 

By noon of tins day (30th) we had crossed the steep ridge 
which lies across the head of the canal, by a path much lower 
than that which Captain Kichards had taken coming from 
Home Lake. The ascent, indeed, was so gradual as to offer 
no obstacle to the construction of a road. Having descended 
by the other side, which was somewhat steeper, we came upon 
a beautiful stream, 40 or 50 yards wide, running to the north- 
ward. Following this stream, we fell across some herds of elk 
(wapiti), one of which I fortunately brought down, after my 
head Indian had made two or three unsuccessful shots. I say 
fortunately, for nothing raises a stranger more in the estima- 
tion of the Indians than skill with the rifle ; and as I managed 
next day to shoot two deer through the head, it raised their 
opinion of me immensely, and made them follow my instruc- 
tions much more readily than they might otherwise have 
done. It would astonish one unacquainted with Indians on a 
campaign like this, to note the expedition with which an 
elk, larger than a cow, is reduced to a skeleton. As 
I have before mentioned, a quarter of an hour suffices to 
accomplish this result, including the process even of turn- 
ing its skin into mocassins. The prime cuts — those along 
each side of the saddle, and affording two strips of meat 
five or six feet long, and four inches thick, belonging of right 
to me as the leader of the party — were sewn up in a piece of 
the elk's skin and slung on the chief Indian's pack. The 
rest of the deer's flesh was then divided, and its skin laced on 



170 A FORTUNATE ESCAPE. Chap. VIII. 

to their feet, in the way I have before described, with extra- 
ordinary despatch. 

After another hour's walk we halted under a large tree to 
smoke a pipe, before crossing a piece of swamp which lay 
just ahead of us. I had leant my gun against a tree — I 
carried it myself just then, in the hope of getting another 
shot at an elk — and was striking a match, when I saw the old 
hunter leap up with an abrupt ejaculation, and commence 
tearing the cover off his gun in great haste. Seizing mine, 
and looking about to see what was the matter, a large black 
bear jumped down from the tree under which we had been sit- 
ting, and made off with all speed into the bush. With my gun 
to my shoulder I swung round upon my heel after him, when 
Mr. Bamfield, in his eagerness to get a shot at the bear, 
starting up, placed his head within a few inches of the muzzle 
of my weapon, and nothing but a sharp instinctive jerk which 
I gave it upward prevented his receiving the contents of the 
barrel. It was a fortunate escape for him, for me, and for the 
bear, who, in the confusion which followed, made his escape, 
much to the disappointment of the Indians, who prefer bear- 
meat to elk at this season, and would have thrown away their 
stock of venison for it. Proceeding, we soon came to a small 
lake about three miles long, of the existence of which no one 
of the Indians had any idea. As we had been on low land, 
or through thick wood all the w r ay, I was rather puzzled to 
make out whereabouts Mount Arrowsmith, the position of 
which was well determined in our charts, was, and somewhat 
inadvisedly invited a discussion of the question before the 
Indians. I had all along been steering by a pocket-compass, 
which the Indians looked upon with great awe, and which I 
insisted, whenever I found them wavering, showed me the 
way to Nanaimo. My doubts as to the whereabouts of Mount 
Arrowsmith were therefore an admission of ignorance which it 
was rash of me to make ; for one curious, observant old fellow, 
whom we had christened Wat Tyler, from a likeness he bore 



Chap. VIII. REACH NANAIMO. 171 

to Mr. Bamfield's ideal of that personage, immediately pro- 
pounded the troublesome problem — " If the compass showed 
me the way to Nanaimo, why did it not show me where the 
mountain was?" I had to explain that the compass, being 
bound for Nanaimo, declined to trouble itself with any other 
consideration. 

We walked along the beach for about half the length 
of the lake, when the Indians proposed making a raft to 
continue our journey on. As it was near camping-time, and 
I did not know how much farther the lake extended, we 
halted and commenced making the raft to proceed upon 
next morning. It proved fortunate that we did so, as it 
saved us a scramble over steep rocks, and round one or two 
points which would have proved by no means easy or pleasant 
travelling. 

At the east end of the lake, which was not more than three 
miles and a half long, and which we reached after a wet, cold 
journey on the raft we had constructed during the night, we 
found another considerable river running to the northward 
through the gorge, up which a road could be carried with no 
great difficulty. We did not follow this stream, but crossed 
the ridge on the right of it, and descended on its north side, 
the Gulf of Georgia opening before us. This was the 1st of 
May, and from that till the afternoon of the 3rd, having 
crossed to the east coast of the island, we passed over land 
most of which would be admirably adapted for settlement, 
quite equal, indeed, to the already settled Saanitch district, 
although not so good, perhaps, as some other parts of the 
island, particularly at Komoux, of which I shall have to speak 
presently. Most of it was level, and lightly timbered; in 
some parts, indeed, the soil was light and swampy, but, as a 
rule, it was a dark, rich vegetable mould. It will be remem- 
bered that I am speaking now of the east coast of the island 
between Qualicome and Nanoose. On the 3rd, at 1 p.m., 
we made the sea, a few miles from Nanoose Harbour, and, 



172 RETURN TO ALBERNI. Chap. VIII. 

skirting it, held directly for Nanaimo, which we reached next 
day at 5 p.m. 

The Nanaimo people were very much surprised at our 
appearance, and delighted to hear so good a report of the 
way we had travelled by. We remained there till the 7th, 
on which day we set out on our return journey to Alberni. 
Three of the Indians who had accompanied me suffered so 
much from swollen feet and legs that I was obliged to leave 
them behind, finding, luckily, as many Nanaimos willing to 
take their place. I intended to return by an entirely different 
route to that which we had taken in coming, and accordingly 
pushed inland at once from Nanaimo, keeping behind Nanoose 
Harbour altogether. We found a great deal of excellent 
land in the valley of the Nanoose Kiver, which flows from the 
southward into the head of Nanoose Harbour ; so that I am 
able to affirm that the whole country between the QuaKcome 
River and Nanaimo is fair, and in parts excellent. At 
Nanoose we nearly struck our old route, and having found 
that Mounts Arrowsmith and Moriarty, that lay before us, 
and between which I had hoped to pass, were united by a 
high, snow-covered ridge, held for the lake, recrossed it by 
means of the raft, which we found where it had been left, and 
reached the settlement at Alberni at ten in the morning of 
the 12th May. 

Though the difficulties of making a road across the island 
were not insuperable, or even great, yet the Governor was 
disappointed at those which I reported to exist, he having 
been under the impression that there was little to prevent a 
waggon-road being at once laid down. This, however, will 
seldom be found practicable in this country. I think I am 
safe in asserting that road-making is the hardest and most 
expensive work in the colony ; for when there are not hills 
to be scaled, there are woods and swamps to cross ; and where 
these are wanting, rapid rivers and streams will be found 
that require bridging. As yet no road has been constructed 



Chap. VIII. COURTENAY RIVER. 173 

even between Victoria and Nanainio, the main obstacle to 
which is the lack of money in the colonial treasury.* When 
this is done we may hope for communication across the island 
to the Alberni, which I think should be carried up from that 
place through the Nanoose Valley, and then along the coast, 
a branch turning into Cameron Lake and Alberni, and the 
main road continuing up the east side of the island to 
Comax, Salmon Eiver, Beaver Cove, and Fort Rupert — 
in all of which districts there is much good land, of 
which I shall presently speak. Let us now, however, return 
to the ' Plumper,' and accompany her from Qualicome, 
where we left her at anchor. On the 13th April we 
weighed, and steamed up Baynes Sound, between Deninan 
Island and Vancouver, anchoring in Henry Bay, at the north 
end of the former. From this place our party pushed on to 
Cape Mudge, at the south end of Discovery Passage, to 
prepare the way for the ship ; while Dr. Wood and I 
went to examine the land about the Courtenay Eiver, winch 
empties itself into the head of Baynes Sound. This portion 
of the island, which is known as the Komoux, or Comax 
district, had been partially examined before ; but although we 
had been informed that there was some fine land there, the 
extent and beauty of what we saw quite surprised us, and we 
both agreed this was the most promising spot for an agricul- 
tural settlement we had yet seen on the island. 

The Courtenay Kiver runs into Augusta Bay, at the head 
of Baynes Sound, and here we found what is of the utmost 
importance in prospecting for a settlement, viz., good and 
safe anchorage for ships of almost any size. At the rivers' 
mouths are sands, which dry off to some considerable distance, 
and in winter are covered with flocks of ducks, geese, and 
other wild fowl. The stream for about a mile is perfectly 

* Since writing the above a bill has been brought before the House of 
Assembly for the construction of a road between these places ; the bill was 
most unwisely, rejected, and one for a mule-trail granted. 



174 COURTENAY RIVER. Chap. VIII. 

navigable for large boats at high-water, or even for small 
stern-wheel steamers ; although the land on the left bank 
being quite clear and level from outside the river's mouth, 
it is unnecessary to have steamers, or even bateaux there. 
At the point where it becomes unnavigable, the Courte- 
nay — which as far as we examined runs nearly parallel with 
the coast — is joined by a river, called by the natives the 
" Puntluch," which flows from the south-west through a deep 
valley, and probably takes its rise in the great central lake, 
from which the Somass Eiver runs down on the west side 
of the island into the Alberni Canal. We did not go up this 
stream, the Indians reporting that there was no good land 
upon its banks, and that the bush was very thick. Landing 
from the canoe just above the Forks of the Puntluch and 
Courtenay (or Tzo-o-oom, as the Indians call it) Rivers, and on 
the left bank of the latter, we found ourselves in the middle 
of a large prairie, which we discovered continued in a north- 
westerly direction, or parallel with the coast, for eight or ten 
miles. The Courtenay flows nearly through the centre of 
this, and there are one or two smaller streams, which water 
the whole abundantly. The ground slopes upwards from the 
river on both sides, so as to prevent the possibility of over- 
flow to any extent. The whole of this prairie is bounded by 
dense wood, forming a sheltering coast-fringe on the east, and 
affording plenty of timber on all sides (except towards the 
entrance from Baynes Sound) for building, burning, &c. It 
took us a day and a half to walk over this land, through 
which a plough might be driven from end to end. We tried 
to penetrate the forest at the northern end, in hopes of 
finding some more clear land beyond, but the Indians said 
they did not know of any in that direction ; and as our time 
was limited, we retraced our steps. I have no doubt, how" 
ever, but more good land will be found to lie between this 
point and the valley of the Salmon River, which is 60 miles 
north of it. The Indians at Salmon River told us that thev 



Chap. VIII. KOMAN CATHOLIC PEIERTS. 175 

could go by land from there to Komoux in a day and a half ; 
and this, if true, proves that the bush cannot be very thick. 
We found the 'ground on the west bank of the Courtenay 
nearly as good as that on the east. The soil, indeed, appeared 
quite equal to it, but it is not so level. We estimated the 
clear land here altogether at 7000 or 8000 acres. The 
Indians told us that a great many blankets would be wanted 
for the purchase of this tract, as all the neighbouring tribes 
resorted there in the summer-time to collect berries, shoot 
deer, catch fish, &c, all of winch were found in large quan- 
tities. Indeed, they showed some reluctance at taking us 
over it, feeling sure, no doubt, that we should desire to 
possess it when its qualities became known. Eejoining .the 
ship after two days' absence, on the 20th we started for a 
small harbour inside Cape Mudge, whence to commence 
surveying operations up the Strait. While in Henry Bay we 
witnessed the arrival of some Koman Catholic priests, which 
caused the greatest excitement among the natives. They 
were scattered in all directions, fishing, &c. — many on board 
and around the ship — when a canoe, with two large banners 
flying, appeared in sight. Immediately a shout was raised of 
" Le Pr£tre ! Le Pretre ! " and they all paddled on shore as fast 
as they could to meet them. There were two priests in the 
canoe, and in this way they travelled, visiting in turn every 
village on the coast. A fortnight afterwards, when I was in 
Johnstone Strait with a boat-party, I met them again. It 
was a pouring wet day, cold, and blowing hard, and they were 
apparently very lightly clothed, huddling in the bottom of 
their canoe, the Indians paddling laboriously against wind 
and tide to reach a village by night, and the sea washing- 
over them, drenching them to the skin. I never saw men 
look in a more pitiable plight. They had a little map 
with them, and asked me to show them where they were, of 
which they appeared to have a very hazy idea. One of their 
men had shot a deer, which they were delighted to exchange 



176 CAPE MUDGE — SEYMOUR NARROWS. Chap, VIII. 

for some biscuit, of which they had run very short. Certainly if 
misery on this earth will be compensated for hereafter, those 
two priests were laying in a plentiful stock of happiness. 

The Koman Catholic clergy located in these parts are 
mostly Frenchmen. They are energetic, clever men — of no 
very high extraction or type, perhaps — and work under the 
direction of M. Demers, the Eoman Catholic Bishop of 
Victoria. They are thorough masters of Chinook, have 
the art of making themselves understood and feared by the 
Indians, and undoubtedly possess considerable influence over 
them. 

Coming out at the north end of Baynes Sound, and round- 
ing Cape Lazo, Cape Mudge — so named by Vancouver, after 
his lieutenant, the late Admiral Zachariah Mudge — appears 
like an island in the middle of the Gulf, presenting a high, 
steep face to the southward; though as it is approached, 
shoals will be found extending from it a long way. This 
part of the Gulf of Georgia forms a sort of playground for 
the waters, in which they frolic, utterly regardless of all tidal 
rules. This is caused by the collision of the streams which 
takes place here ; the flood-stream from the south, through 
the Strait of Fuca, and up the Haro Archipelago, being met 
by that from Queen Charlotte Sound and Johnstone and 
Discovery Straits. The tide-rips caused by the conflict 
between these opponent streams are excessively dangerous 
to boats, and great care has to be exercised in crossing. 
These tide-rips exist to some extent in all parts of these 
inner waters, but they are certainly more dangerous here than 
anywhere else. A boat getting into them is almost certain 
to be swamped ; aud even a ship is so twisted and twirled 
about as to run considerable risk, if the passage is at all 
narrow, of being forced on the rocks or beach. 

Fifteen miles above Cape Mudge, Seymour Narrows, at the 
south end of Discovery Strait, are reached. These narrows 
are only 900 yards wide, and as the stream turns almost 



Chap. VIII. RAPID AND UNCERTAIN CURRENTS. 177 

instantaneously in them, there is an incessant turmoil and 
bubble going on. On the Monday after we moved from Baynes 
Sound to Quathiosky Cove, just inside Cape Mudge, Pender 
and I started for these narrows. I had to stop at them while 
he was going further on for a distance of 40 or 50 miles. We 
pulled up to them with the young ebb : my boat keeping close 
inshore to prevent its being carried through ; Pender in the 
mid-stream. As we approached we watched his boat quicken- 
ing her pace every second. When close to the entrance we 
shot into a little pool of still water, and jumping on a rock I 
was just in time to see him shoot through at a tremendous 
speed, laying on his oars, for they were quite useless, and 
flying up the Strait. In about an hour from the time we 
parted he had reached Point Chatham,*about 15 miles up. 
This is very well so long as a boat is going with the stream, 
but when working against it it is not so pleasant, particu- 
larly if, as frequently happens, a strong wind is blowing with 
the current. For, as the mountains are mostly very high on 
each side and the Strait nowhere more than two miles wide, 
the wind blows up and down it with great force. 

It would be tedious both to myself and to my reader to give 
a detailed description of the numerous islands and passages 
between Cape Mudge and the north end of the island. I will 
therefore only speak of the few places that are or seem 
likely to become of importance to the colony. I may say 
generally that the passage of the Strait is 140 miles long, 
and averages one mile and a half in width : its average 
depth is about 100 fathoms, and there are plenty of anchor- 
ages on both sides. For sailing-vessels the rapid and 
uncertain currents must always make the navigation some- 
what dangerous, although Vancouver managed seventy years 
ago to get the old * Discovery ' and ' Chatham ' through. 
For steamers capable of going seven or eight knots it is safe 
enough, though a stranger would probably feel a little nervous 

N 



178 NUMBERS OF ELK. Chap. YIII. 

at finding his vessel twisted round and round against her 
helm, and apparently running full tilt at the steep trap cliffs 
which line it, until an opposite eddy catches and preserves her, 
or forces her in the same fashion on to the other shore. 

Fifteen miles above Seymour Narrows is Point Chatham. 
Here the channel divides : the western one, Johnstone 
Strait, leading up to Kupert ; the eastern, Nodales Channel, 
flowing between the islands towards Bute and Lough- 
borough Inlets. Five-and-twenty miles above this again is 
Salmon Bay and Kiver, in the vicinity of which I believe 
there is some good land, and from which, as I have said, the 
Indians assert that they can go direct to Komoux. Ten 
miles above Salmon Biver is Port Neville, a long harbour 
in which is capital anchorage, and beyond the head of which 
we were told were some large lakes. We had a most fortu- 
nate escape of running on a pinnacle in the entrance of this 
harbour. The harbour had been examined carefully before 
we went there ; but the existence of this rock was not dis- 
covered. As we went in we must have gone within a few 
€ yards of it without knowing anything about it, and on coming 
out we passed it so closely as to be able to see it distinctly 
from the deck. After a few years in a surveying ship, how- 
ever, you get quite used to this sort of escape. 

Five or six miles above Port Neville, on the opposite side, 
is Adam's Biver, a stream of considerable size, flowing through 
a large valley, which looks as though it had some good land 
in it. Twenty miles above Adam's Biver is Beaver Cove, 
called by the natives Quarkese. There is some beautiful 
land a mile or so in from the harbour, and large numbers 
of elk are to be found : Mr. Weynton told me that he had 
seen thirty or forty in a day, and shot a large number. Close 
above this again is the Nimpkish Biver, with the village 
of the Nimpkish Indians on its north bank. This village 
presents exactly the same appearance now as it did in 1792, 



Chap. YIII. MR. MOFFAT'S JOURNAL. 179 

when Vancouver made that sketch of it which is given in his 
Voyages. The river flows from a large lake in the centre of 
the island. There is an Indian trail from Nimpkish to Nootka, 
by which Mr. Moffat, one of the Hudson Bay Company's 
officers, crossed in 1852. As Mr. Moffat is the only white 
man who has ever travelled by this route, and as his explora- 
tions nearly meet those of Captain Eichards and myself in 
the southern part of the island, I will here introduce some 
extracts from his Journal : — 

Leaving the mouth of the Nimpkish River at daybreak of 
July 2, 1852, in a canoe with six Indians, he reached the fishing- 
village at the entrance of the lake at nine o'clock, and entered 
it at ten. The Indian name of the lake is 'Tsllettle ; but he 
afterwards called it the Nimpkish Lake, by which name it is 
now generally known. "The shores on either side at this 
(north-east) end," writes Mr. Moffat, "rise perpendicularly 
from the water's edge to the height of some 1500 or 1600 feet, 
and from 4000 to 5000 feet a little inland, and are in many 
places capped wdth snow. The width, of the lake at its 
entrance is about half-a-mile, gradually widening to a mile 
and a half. I endeavoured to ascertain the depth with a forty- 
fathom line, but did not succeed. Our course through the 
hike was about south-east, and the length I have since ascer- 
tained to be fully 25 miles. In the evening we camped at 
the River Oaksey, distant about a mile from the head." 

At ten next morning Mr. Moffat's party commenced the 
ascent of the River Oaksey, stopping a short time to examine 
the finest beaver-dam he had ever seen. "The whole of 
this day was spent in working up the rapids, of which the 
river is one continuation. We encamped in the evening 
at Waakash, the half-way house to the second lake, a dis- 
tance of 12 miles. The banks of the river are rather 
low, and abounding in splendid red pine and maple * of 
all sizes ; but not the slightest vestige of clear land to be 

* Probably Abies Douglasii, and Acer macliruphyllum or Acer rubrum. 

N 2 



180 ME. MOFFAT'S JOUKNAL. Chap. VIII. 

seen. The country a short distance inland from the river 
is very high." 

On the following day, after eight hours' paddling, they 
reached a second village, where they got a few salmon 
and trout. "The river here branches off in two different 
directions : the distance from Waakash to this place is about 
seven or eight miles, and the river, as yesterday, nothing but 
rapids. We remained only a short time here and then started 
for Lake Hanns, distant six miles." The Indians told Mr. 
Moffat that this part of the river was very shallow and the 
country between them and the lake clear ; so he went with 
some of his crew on foot, and reached the lake after a very 
pleasant walk. "The country through which I passed was 
clear, with occasional belts of wood and brush, and abounding 
in partridges, of which I shot a good many. I also noticed a 
pond of cold spring-water, of great depth, without an outlet, 
similar to what are at home called blow-wells. During my 
walk I was informed of a tribe of Indians living inland, having 
no canoes and no connection with the coast whatever. I have 
since learned that these people sometimes descend some of 
the rivers for the purpose of trade with the Indians of Xootka, 
and they offered to guide me to the place at any time I should 
wish. The name of the tribe is Saa-kaalituck ; they number 
about 50 or 60 men, and were only discovered a few years 
back by one of the Nimpkish chiefs, while on a trapping 
expedition. The following is the Indians' story of their 
discovery : — Our party, while sitting round the fire on the 
banks of a small rivulet, observed a beaver playing in the 
water, and having followed the course of the stream in hopes 
of falling in with a dam, came suddenly upon a lake, and the 
first thing that struck our attention was a small village, 
situated at the opposite side. Upon entering the village Ave 
were well received by the Indians and opened a trade for 
skins, of which they had an abundance, and which they used 
for clothing. They informed us that Southern Indians (as we 



Chap. VIII. INDIAN SUPERSTITION. 181 

supposed, the Saanitch) had been there on war parties, and 
killed a good many of them. 

" This tribe are known to the Nootkas, who have a 
superstitious idea that they are the spirits of their dead, on 
account of their speaking the same language. From the 
time the Nimpkish say it takes to perform this journey, and 
from the Saanitch (or more probably the Comax) Indians 
having knowledge of these people, I have not the least 
doubt that a road might with little difficulty be discovered 
from here to Victoria, through the very centre of the island. 
After passing this lake, which is probably ten miles long, 
we encamped at the base of a snow-capped mountain, two 
very fine cascades falling several hundred feet from its 
summit ; and the streams which they form abounding in 
trout of excellent quality and great size> numbers of which 
we caught." 

Next day Mr. Moffat endeavoured to ascend the mountain 
mentioned, and which he called Ben Lomond, but which is 
probably the Conuma Peak of the old navigators. He 
failed from its steepness, however. " Having," he writes, 
" been disappointed in my walk, I returned to the camp at 
9 a.m., and set out for a walk across the portage (which was 
a succession of mountain defiles) to the head-waters of the 
Nootka Kiver. This river, during its course of three or four 
miles from its source, disappears three different times. 
Stopped at noon to dine, and, after half an hour's rest, 
recommenced our journey, and arrived at Nootka Sound 
at 7 p.m., after passing over 16 or 18 miles." 

The Indians would not encamp there, however, on account 
of a superstitious fear of ghosts, and he had to go on farther. 
This was, however, the real end of the journey, so far as this 
route is concerned ; the rest being merely down Nootka 
Sound in a canoe. From Nimpkish Kiver to the Thupana 
arm of Nootka, occupied four days. On his arrival at 



182 BEAVER HARBOUR. Chap. VIII. 

Friendly Cove, he was received with a discharge of guns 
from the Chiefs house. " Until we were about to land," he 
says, " scarcely an Indian was to be seen, but at a given signal 
the whole tribe darted from their houses and commenced a 
grand dance in honour of the arrival of a white man to visit 
them, after which a sea-otter skin was presented to me by 
the Chief, and we landed amid the welcome shouts of the 
Nootkas. In the evening a grand fancy dress ball was given, 
and a large quantity of blankets and other property dis- 
tributed." * 

Ten miles beyond Nimpkish is Beaver Harbour, on the 
south side of which stands Fort Eupert — the only fort beside 
Victoria on Vancouver Island. Between the Nimpkish Biver 
and Beaver Harbour, the Straits become, comparatively 
speaking, very shallow ; and a bank has to be crossed with 
not more than three fathoms of water upon it. 

Beaver harbour is fine, roomy, and well sheltered. There 
is no extent of clear land in its vicinity, although it is pretty 
level. As I have before said the Quatsinough Inlet runs up 
from the west side of the island to within seven miles of 
this place, and there is a good trail connecting them. The 
timber here is fine — the Douglas and White pines grow- 
ing very large. Three or four years ago a large number 
were felled, with the intention of shipping them to China 
and elsewhere ; but from some mismanagement in the 
Company which had undertaken the work, they were never 
despatched, and are now lying about the beach in all direc- 
tions. There is a considerable quantity of yellow cypress 
here also. This wood is not found on the south-east part 
of the island. Some has been cut on the west side, but 
it becomes more plentiful as you travel north ; and in the 
Russian territory near Sitka it exists in large quantities. It 

* Pemberton's 'Facts and Figures,' Appendix. 



Chap. VIII. SALMON FISHERY. 183 

is very light and tough, and is by far the best wood on the 
coast for boat-plank. When green it emits a peculiar though 
not unpleasant smell, and can always be recognised in 
the woods by its leaf, which differs from that of the Com- 
mon pine — which tree it otherwise closely resembles, being 
convex on both sides. 

Fort Rupert is the newest and best built station of 
the Hudson Bay Company I have seen, and the gardens 
are very nicely laid out. Of course, like all the rest, it is 
stockaded, and has its gallery and bastions. It stands almost 
in the middle of the Indian village. Some idea of the 
number of salmon in these parts, and of the prodigality of 
the Hudson Bay Company under the old regime, may be 
gathered from the fact told me by one of these officers, 
that before he took charge of the post 3000 salmon were 
used annually as manure for the garden. I take it that 
pickling salmon here would be a very lucrative speculation. 
The fish can be bought for a leaf of tobacco each, and as 
forty of these leaves compose a pound of that herb, a fair 
margin of profit is left. Including the packing, they might 
be cured at a cost of from one and a half dollars to two 
dollars a barrel. The price obtained at the Sandwich Islands, 
where the Company at one time earned on some little trading 
of this sort, averaged fourteen dollars a barrel. The Hudson 
Bay Company, however, are shy at embarking in any but 
the fur trade, and perhaps they are right. Companies are 
proverbially unlucky in trade, and the opportunities neglected 
and thrown away by this one during the last few years have 
astonished every merchant who has visited these parts. I 
should add that 2000 barrels might be obtained annually at 
Port Rupert, and as much more at almost every inlet in the 
island. 

It may interest the reader if I attempt some description 
of the profits derivable from these trading-posts of the 



184 PROFITS OF HUDSON BAY Chap. VIIL 

Hudson Bay Company on Vancouver Island and elsewhere. 
Fort Rupert may be accepted as a very fair specimen of its 
order. It is certainly not too favourable a one, as a year 
since the directors had some thought of abolishing it, on the 
ground that its profits were considered insufficient, though the 
figures on the next page show they are not small. 

The post is manned by one officer (a clerk) and eight men. 
The officer is paid 100?. a year; the chief man, 40?. ; and the 
other seven, 20?.* The cost of provisions for the year cannot 
exceed 200?., and perhaps firing and other small items may 
amount to 100?. more, making the total cost of the post about 
600?. a-year. I have omitted the expense of building the fort, 
but this was done by the eight men whose wages I have 
given; and the plank, and some small sum to the Indians 
employed in fetching and carrying, were the only extra 
outlay incurred in its construction. If this were the only 
post along the coast, in the estimate of the cost of keeping it 
up would have to be included the expense of the steamer 
which visits it twice a-year. As it is, however, she calls 
there on her way to Fort Simpson and the stations on the 
northern coasts, whence great numbers of furs are obtained ; 
so that but a small proportion of her cost can be charged 
against Fort Rupert. 

Having roughly estimated the cost of this station, I will 
give the number and value of the furs and skins collected in 
the year 1859 — by no means an extraordinarily productive 
season, The following is a list : — 



* At this time a clerk was in charge of Kupert. A chief trader is now there, 
whose salary may be estimated at 500Z. or 600Z. 



Chap. VIII. 



COMPANY'S POSTS. 



185 



Number and Value of Furs. 



Num- 
ber. 


Price given. 


Total cost. 


Value of each in 
England. 


Total Value 
in England. 








£. 


s. 


d. 




£. 


s. d. 


Bear Skins 


250 


1 blanket each 


si 


5 





11. to SI 


500 





Marten 


2000 


G for 1 blanket 


108 


4 





10s. to 21. 


2015 





Minx .. 


5000 


30 


54 


5 





2s. to 7s. Gd. 
Black. 


1250 
) 





Land Otter 


250 


1 blanket each 


81 


5 





15s. to 11. 10s. 
Pale. 


200 















( 


7s. Gd. to 10s. Gd, 




Beaver 


GOO 


2 for 1 blanket 


97 


10 





3s. Gd. to 8s. Gd. 


150 





Lynx .. 


100 


3 


10 


14 





3s. to 8s Gd. 

White. 


20 
) 





Fox . . 


50 


3 


5 


7 





3s. to 5s. 

Red. 
6s. to 10s. 


I" 





Sea Otter . . 


50 


12 blankets each .. 


195 








51. to 251. 


750 





Fishers 


50 


3 for 1 blanket 


5 


4 





5s. to 11. 10s. 


42 


10 


Bacoon 


1000 


12 „ 


4 


3 





Is. to 10s, 


275 





Babbits 


5000 


1 leaf of tobacco each 


2 


10 





Not sent home. 






Wolverine .. 


GO 


3 for 1 blanket 


6 10 





5s. to 9s. 


21 





Wolf .. .. 


12 


3 


1 


6 





Is. to 10s. 


3 


10 


Fur Seal . . 


GO 


2 


8 


7 





8s. to 12s. 


150 





Hair Seal . . 


60 


1 12 leaves of tobacco) 

\ each f 

1 4 leaves of tobacco "1 
\ each .. .. / 





9 





Is. to 4s. 6d. 


8 





Musk Bat . . 


100 





5 





3d. to 10^. 


5 





Silver Fox 


















GG0 


4 







5405 






If, then, we add to the cost of the furs 600?. for the 
expense of the post, we have 1200?. against 5405?., showing 
a profit of more than 4100?. yearly on this establishment, 
which is considered by the Company as one of their least 
profitable stations. 

From this balance of profit has to be deducted the cost of 
conveying the above articles to England, which cannot well 
be estimated, as they are conveyed in the Company's own vessel, 
which carries passengers and other freight. In addition to 
the above list of furs, above 400 gallons of seal- oil are yearly 
exported from Fort Eupert. 

Between Beaver Harbour and Cape Scott, at the extreme 
north of the island, there are two or three anchorages — Shu- 



186 QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. Chap. VIII. 

cartie Bay on the island, and Bull Harbour in Hope Island, 
on the opposite shore. Just beyond Bull Harbour a bank, 
called the Newittee Bar, has to be crossed, upon which, 
however, there is always sufficient water for ships to pass 
over safely. The Newittee Indians inhabit this part of the 
island, and coal has been found by them in considerable 
quantity. I should have mentioned that coal has been 
discovered at Beaver Harbour also, and, indeed, that mea- 
sures of this mineral extend all along the northern part of 
the island. 

Off Cape Scott, in Queen Charlotte's Sound, is a small 
group of islands, called the Triangles. These are high and 
rocky, and useless except perhaps to erect a lighthouse on at 
some future day. 

One hundred and twenty miles north of Cape Scott are 
the Queen Charlotte Islands. These islands are as yet 
unsurveyed and unexplored. It is generally thought that 
the group will be found to be divided into many more 
islands than are at present given on the charts. 

Very little is yet known of their character. The Haida 
Indians who inhabit them are fierce, and rather disposed to 
resist the encroachments of the whites. Some years ago, 
indeed, they fired on the boats of a man-of-war approaching 
their shores. These Indians have at various times brought 
specimens of gold in quartz to Victoria, and in 1852 
the Hudson Bay Company despatched a party of men in the 
brig 'Una' to examine the place from whence they said it 
came. This party proceeded to Gold Harbour, as it is now 
called, on the south-west side of Moresby Island ; and Mr. 
Mitchell, who commanded the ship, told me that they got 
about 1000 dollars of gold out, but that the Indians stole it 
from them as fast as they collected it. The miners then 
growing weary of their task, and quarrelling among them- 
selves, the expedition broke up. 



Chap. VIII. QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. 187 

In July, 1859, Mr. Downie —whose name I have before 
mentioned as an old Califoraian miner and explorer — started 
with a party of twenty-seven men, provisioned for three 
months, and reached Gold Harbour on the 6th of August. 
They examined the place where the gold was taken out by 
the ' Una's ' party, and discovered a few specks in a small 
quartz-seam running through slate. They then explored 
Douglas Inlet, which runs into the south of Gold Harbour, 
without any success ; and afterwards proceeded to Skidegate 
Channel, which separates the two large islands Graham and 
Moresby. They found trap and hornblende rocks, with a 
few poor seams of quartz, but no gold to the southward. To 
the northward they found talcose slate, quartz, and red 
earth, but no gold ; and, coming upon coal in the Skidegate 
Channel, decided further search was useless, and returned to 
Gold Harbour. They had left some of the party there to 
blast, and, on returning found that they too had given it up 
as hopeless. The conclusion they came to as the result of 
their investigation was, that the gold found by the first party 
existed in an offshoot, or, as it is technically termed, a blow, 
instances of which are very common in California. In his 
report of his journey to the Governor, Mr. Downie says: 
" The offshoots in question are not uncommon, as I have 
often seen them in California. On such a discovery being 
made, hundreds of miners take claims in all directions near 
it, and test the ground in every way ; but nothing is found 
except in the one spot, about seventy feet in length, running 
south-east and north-west. On being worked about fifteen 
feet it gave out. . . . Before work commenced, I have blown 
the sand off a vein of pure gold." About the same time, 
Captain Torrens also went with a party to prospect on Queen 
Charlotte Island. They landed at the village in the Skide- 
gate Channel, and were very nearly being murdered there. 
One of the Indians commenced haranguing the others, and 



188 QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. Chap. VIII. 

incited them to murder the party by. saying they were come 
to rob them of their land. One of the chiefs, however, stood 
by them, and enabled them to get to their canoes, and they 
escaped unhurt, though several shots were fired after them. 
They crossed to Fort Simpson, and, after remaining there a 
few days, were recalled to Queen Charlotte Sound by a 
deputation of Indians from Gold Harbour. The party, how- 
ever, soon became discontented, and having met with as little 
success in their search for gold as Mr. Downie, refused to 
stay longer. Captain Torrens, in his report of the expedition, 
writes: "The country north of Skiddegate Channel is low 
and thickly wooded, receding, in one unbroken level, towards 
a huge range of mountains about 30 miles off. Vegeta- 
tion is here luxuriant, and at intervals patches of open land 
occur, in which the Indians have planted crops of turnips 
and potatoes." His party— originally twelve — had broken 
up at Simpson: six accompanying him, three staying at 
Simpson, and two going with a chief named " Edensaw " to 
Copper Island and the northern islands of the Queen Char- 
lotte group. The accounts from these latter were satisfactory, 
as they brought back copper ore and quartz with sulphurets. 
In a letter which I have received from Captain Torrens, 
narrating the details of his journey, he says that these speci- 
mens gave, upon analysis — 

1st. Copper, 96 lbs. to the ton ; value about 7000 dollars 
(1400J.) per ton. 

2nd. Sulphuret of iron and gold, valued at 13,500 dollars 
(2600?.) per ton. 

As no blasting, however, was done to get these specimens, 
he very justly thinks that they do not give any guide to the 
real value of the spot in which they were found. 

On the 17th of May the < Plumper ' reached Fort Eupert, 
where we found everything quiet, on account of nearly all 
the Indians being away at Shir-wattie, on the mainland, 



Chap. VIII. RETURN TO ESQUIMALT. 189 

catching "koulikin." Having been longer out than usual 
this time, and our coal becoming exhausted, we left Rupert 
on the 25th, and reached Nanaimo on the following day. 

After a few days more work in the Gulf, we returned to 
Esquimalt on the 15th of June, where we heard that H.M.S. 
' Hecate ' had been ordered out to relieve the * Plumper,' and 
to continue the survey of the shores of Vancouver Island and 
the mainland. 



190 ARREST OF AN INDIAN CHIEF. Chap. IX. 



CHAPTEE IX. 



Jervis Inlet — Overland to Port Pemberton — Ship goes to observe Eclipse 

— To Nanaimo with ' Alert ' and ' Termagant ' — * Termagant ' runs ashore 

— ' Alert ' accompanies ' Plumper ' to Fort Rupert — Rescue of Female 
Slave — Ship goes round West Coast of Island, and I go down inside in 
boat and up Squawmisht River in canoe — Arrival of H.M.S. ' Hecate.' 

We remained at Esquimalt till the 26th, when we went 
into Victoria Harbour to assist in intimidating the Indians 
from the north, who had shown symptoms of mutiny. Some 
of them had raised difficulties about camping in the right 
places, and a chief, called Captain John, was to be arrested, 
upon which occasion it was thought likely there would be a 
disturbance. Accordingly, it was decided that we should go 
into Victoria, and, upon the Governor's coming on board, 
fire as much blank cartridge as possible ; and that all the 
Marines, small-arm men, and field-pieces of the ships at 
Esquimalt should be paraded ostentatiously on Beacon Hill. 
The chief was to be arrested while they were all there, so 
that any disturbance which might arise could be easily 
quelled. The individual on whose behalf this entertainment 
was provided aUowed himself to be arrested quietly ; but, 
some time afterwards, he attempted to stab the policeman 
who was conducting him into court, and was shot by him on 
the spot in self-defence. We remained at Victoria over the 
Coronation Day, to give the Indians the benefit of a little 
more powder and noise, and started that evening (28th) for 
Nanaimo. Here I prepared for the most arduous trip I made 
in British Columbia, the object of which was to find a valley 
along which a road might be made from the head of Jervis 
Inlet to the Upper Eraser about Chilcotin. 




HEAD OF JERTTS INIJ3T. 



Pnsre 191. 



Chap. IX. STAET FOE JERVIS INLET. 191 

We left Nanaimo on the 2nd of July, and reached the 
head of the Inlet the same night. Here we managed to 
find a spot close under the rocks, where we could anchor in 
twenty fathoms, and as it fortunately remained calm we 
were able to hold on. Next morning I managed to induce 
five Indians to accompany me. It came ori to blow so hard 
that the ship could not possibly remain there, and I had to 
go on shore with our travelling-gear, and the five natives, 
Dr. Wood being again my travelling companion. As soon 
as we were on the beach, the ship steamed away, leaving 
us with water in front of us, and the thickest, most impene- 
trable bush I have ever had to travel through behind us. 
As there was no village near, however, we soon got the party 
off, and made our way into the bush, with the feeling, com- 
mon on such occasions, of vague hope that we should come 
out again somewhere and somehow. The valley through 
which our way lay was narrow at the entrance, and the hills 
on each side very precipitous. After a hard walk of about 
five miles we halted, camping early to let things settle into 
their places. 

Next morning, after we had travelled about a mile, we came 
to the Laakine Kiver, which runs into the head of the inlet we 
had left. When we reached this stream, the Indians told me 
we should not be able to accomplish the object of our journey, 
as they knew from the height of the water there that we should 
be unable to ford the river higher up ; and further, that even 
if we succeeded in fording this, the Squawmisht and Lilloett 
Kivers — both of which we should have to cross before we 
could reach the Fraser — would be up to our necks at the fords. 
Having on former occasions, however, experienced similar dis- 
couragements on the part of the natives, whose laziness and dis- 
inclination to start upon a journey I have before mentioned, 
we did not pay much attention to them, and pushed on. We 
had to cross and recross the stream three times during the 



192 THE LAAKINE KIVEE. Chap. IX. 

day, owing to the mountains at those places rising perpen- 
dicularly out of the water ; and each time it was a task of 
greater difficulty, as the stream became more rapid and 
deeper as we advanced, while for a considerable distance we 
had to walk along in the riyer up to our waists. This did not 
look promising, but still we hoped it might improve, until at 
4 o'clock we came to a dead stop. At this spot, if we de- 
cided to continue our journey, it was necessary for us again 
to cross the river, as before us lay an impenetrable morass. 
The only apparent means of crossing was on a single log, 
about 120 feet long, which was two feet under water, and 
over which the stream was rushing in a torrent. It was 
quite evident that the packs could not be got across ; and an 
opinion which had grown upon us during the day, that the 
gorge through which we were advancing could never be made 
available as a roadway, forced itself still more powerfully upon 
our minds. We were, however, unwilling as yet to return ; 
and set about making a better bridge by felling a tree across 
the current. After some search, one was found that was long 
enough for the purpose, if we could get it to fall directly 
across ; and we set to work upon it. An hour's hacking 
and chopping brought us to the critical moment. What 
ropes we had were got upon it to guide it the right way, 
the last chop, upon which our fate depended, was given, and 
down came the tree with a crash that for the moment 
drowned the roar of the water. But it fell short of the 
opposite bank, and the next moment we saw our only hope 
flying down the river. The failure of this attempt, coupled 
with the conviction that no perseverance on our part would 
be rewarded, decided us upon retracing our steps to the 
Inlet. It was too late, how r ever, to move that night, and 
I did not tell the Indians of my intention till next morning, 
w 7 hen I delighted them with the intelligence that we 
were going back. All the arguments they had used on 



Chap. IX. OVEKLAND TO PORT PEMBERTON. 193 

the previous day to prevent our proceeding were repeated 
with additional emphasis now. " The water would keep on 
rising all the summer, as it had commenced much earlier 
than usual," they said ; " we should never have got across 
the other rivers, even if we had crossed here, as this river was 
not to be compared with them. Our provisions would have 
been exhausted long before we could have reached the 
Fraser, if we ever did reach it ; and what would be the good 
of exploring this way after all, when they were certain mules 
co aid never pass it ? " These and many similar arguments 
were brought forward to confirm our purpose of returning, 
and justly too ; for our way hitherto, when we had not been 
walking on the bed of the river, had been through swamp in 
which we sank nearly up to our knees, and where a mule 
would undoubtedly have gone up to his girths. I say no- 
thing of the undergrowth of willow and wild raspberry- 
bushes, which formed a thick network, through which we 
had to force our path, but which in constructing the trail 
would of course be cleared away. The Indians, in their 
eagerness to return, had told me that they knew a way by 
which we could cross from Jervis Inlet to Howe Sound, and 
thence to Port Pemberton, and I now determined to make 
them take this route. Accordingly, we retraced our steps 
to the Inlet, and, sleeping at our first night's camping-place, 
reached it by nine next morning. 

Having got safely out of the bush, the Indians showed the 
greatest reluctance to making another start, and urged all 
kinds of fresh and startling difficulties. Kecourse to very strong 
expressions was found necessary ; and they were threatened 
with the undying wrath of Mr. Douglas, whose name always 
acts as a talisman with them. It was vividly set forth how 
that gentleman would call them " cultus " (useless), if they did 
not go, and how they would all receive muskets, blankets, 
and praise if they did. These arguments, accompanied with 
the taunt which I have before mentioned as proving very 

o 



194 OVEELAND TO PORT PEMBERTON. Chap. IX. 

effectual with them, that they were woman-hearted, induced 
them to yield and promise to go if I would consent to take 
them to their village in the Arm for that night, that they 
might report their safe return to their squaws and replenish 
their stock. It cost us, as I have said, no little difficulty to 
persuade them to make a fresh start, and in our extremity I 
remember using the powerful argument that not only would 
Mr. Douglas when he heard of it exclaim that the Sechelt 
and Loquilt Indians were women, but that Queen Victoria 
and all the world would from the moment I reported the 
circumstance, regard their tribe as unworthy of their con- 
sideration. 

Much as I dislike sleeping at an Indian village, I thought 
it wise to yield to their wish so far, and accordingly we 
paddled down the inlet to it. On our way we met our 
pinnace, which had been left with two other boats' to survey 
the inlet, and I was very glad to go on board her for an hour 
or so. We slept at the village, however, as I knew if I once 
lost sight of the Indians I should never get them away from 
home. Next morning, the 7th July, we started with less 
trouble than I had ever experienced in leaving a village. 
My chief guide I could not help pitying, as he was leaving 
a young and pretty wife with a child in her arms, who cried 
bitterly when we started. He seemed very fond of her, and 
constantly on the journey said he wanted to hurry back to his 
" Papoose," as he called her. 

We paddled down to a bay called " Deserted Bay," 15 miles 
from the head of the inlet, and here met Pender, who was in 
charge of the surveying party, and Gowland in the pinnace. 
I spent a few hours with them, and at three we got away, 
Pender and Gowland bearing us company to the edge of the 
bush, and there leaving us with good wishes, — congratulating 
themselves, as they afterwards told us, that their way lay no 
further inland. We camped a few miles in by the side of a 
river which runs into one of the southern arms of the inlet. 



Chap. IX. OVERLAND TO PORT PEMBERTON. 195 

and which is called by the natives the " Tzoonye." This 
stream, they say, flows from a lake not far north of this spot. 
Directly facing us was a ridge of mountains, which must be 
crossed on the following day. Had we then known the height 
of this ridge and the difficulty we should experience in 
making the ascent, these facts would certainly have decided 
us to turn back at once, as they render the pass quite un- 
available for any practical purpose. 

Next morning we commenced the ascent and toiled for 
twelve hours up it and along its summit before we could find 
a spot clear enough of snow to camp in. From the time we 
started it cost us a struggle of about nine hours up an angle 
of thirty to thirty-six degrees to reach its summit. Here we 
found the snow lying three or four feet deep, but suffici- 
ently hard on the surface to prevent our sinking more than 
six or eight inches at each step. Our camp that night lay, by 
the barometer, 4000 feet above that of the night before, and 
we had ascended from a very comfortable temperature to one 
intensely cold. The view was certainly very fine, though 
it scarcely compensated for the discomforts of our situation. 
We were up among snow-peaks which reared their heads 
1000 feet or more above us, and which we recognised as old 
friends seen frequently from the Gulf of Georgia. Before us 
lay the valley along which we must pass, and at its far end 
20 or 30 miles off, on the opposite side of the Squawmisht 
River, was seen another range of snow-clad hills. All this 
when lighted up by the moon and stars, which shone out 
brightly as we sat by our camp-fire smoking our last pipe 
before turning in for the night, was very beautiful. 

Next morning the way became even more difficult. It took 
us three days to descend the valley to the Squawmisht River, 
which we reached and crossed about 10 miles above the head 
of Howe Sound on the 12th. It will give some idea of the 
nature of the country to say that the distance was only about 
25 miles, and that we travelled each day more than ten hours 

o 2 



196 OVEELAND TO PORT PEMBERTON. Chap. IX. 

and usually twelve, making therefore an average speed of 
little more than three-quarters of a mile an hour. A stream, 
for which the Indians had no name, runs through this valley, 
and down to its bed the mountains, 3000 or 4000 feet high, 
slope at all sorts of angles. The ground on which we 
walked the whole way was either smooth, slippery, rocky, or 
swampy ; while nearly everywhere the thickest growth of 
alder, willow, and wild raspberry I have ever seen, formed a 
complete network across our path. A few days of travelling 
such as this may well weary the strength and patience of the 
strongest and most enduring, and my companion, after 
struggling manfully against its fatigues and discomforts, was 
obliged at last to give in. The way before us lay through 
the thick bush I have described, — now over swamp in which 
we sank at every step, sometimes knee-deep, — then over rock 
covered with green slippery moss, on which a fall every few 
minutes was certain. Add to this the constant plague of 
mosquitoes, and it need not be wondered at that my com- 
panion, on reaching the Squawmisht village, said it was no 
use his trying to go any farther. Accordingly he arranged 
with the Indians to take him in a canoe down Howe Sound 
and up the Fraser to Westminster, which he reached the 
following day. Used as I am to the smell of an Indian lodge, 
this village of Elaawho was more than I could stand, and 
there was no other place to pitch the tent, except in the 
midst of the long rank nettles, which thrive so well in the 
vicinity of all Indian villages. Accordingly I said good-bye 
to the Doctor, and having engaged two canoes to take us 
about a mile up the river, started about three in the after- 
noon of the same day, and soon camped for the night. 

The valley at the northern extremity of which this vil- 
lage is situated, and which lies at the head of Howe Sound, 
is of considerable extent, and contains much good land. 
Two large rivers flow through it : the one on which I was, 
the Squawmisht, on the west side ; and the Tseearkamisht 



Chap. IX. OVERLAND TO PORT PEMBERTON. 197 

on the east. Into these rivers several smaller ones run. 
When I met Dr. Wood on my return to Esquimalt, he 
described the lower part of the Squawinisht as very winding, 
and the distance from the village to the head of Howe Sound 
as so much farther than I thought it could be, that afterwards 
when I came down from Fort Kupert in one of the ship's 
boats, I ascended it in a canoe to the village to get observa- 
tions there. 

I was most fortunate in finding the chief, whom I had 
met at Elaawho, at the mouth of the river, and he took 
me up in his canoe most willingly. I then found that the 
river had two mouths, and that through the western and 
larger one stern-wheel steamers might pass and ascend for 
several miles. How far they might be able to go is very 
doubtful, and cannot be determined till they are tried, as it 
frequently happens that those places which appear most 
narrow and dangerous are the easiest to pass ; while in a 
place which appears to an explorer, walking along the bank 
or pushing up the stream close in-shore, perfectly clear, there 
is some snag or bank which forms an effectual block to steam- 
navigation. On returning down the river, however, we kept 
mid-stream, and saw nothing dangerous; and the Indians 
said it was all deep. The chief, who had been several times 
on the Fraser, frequently confirmed them, saying that " Boston 
steamers" could go up his river; and though we passed 
several banks and snags, I saw no place so bad as the Uma- 
tilla snag on the Fraser Kiver, which I have before described, 
while the current did not appear more rapid than I have seen 
it at Sea Bird Bar and opposite Fort Hope. We saw several 
small villages along the river's bank, where the Indians were 
all engaged in salmon-fishing. The Tseearkamisht jojns the 
Squawmisht before reaching Howe Sound ; but the constant 
silting-up has made the mouth of the former so shallow 
as to be quite unnavigable. The chief said there were a 
great many Indians living in different parts of the valley, 



198 OVERLAND TO PORT PEMBERTON. Chap. IX. 

and many potato-grounds ; and he described the soil as being 
very rich. There is no trail to his village from the Sound, 
as they always use the river ; but as the ground is quite level 
and in many parts clear, one could be easily constructed. 
The only ascent which would have to be made between this 
and Port Pemberton is to the summit of a spur which sepa- 
rates the Tseearkamisht and Squawmisht Eivers, and which 
we crossed the day after I left the village. From this summit 
the whole way is by a gradual descent. There would be no 
difficulty in carrying a road over this at an easy grade. 
From the description of Mr. McKay, an Hudson Bay Com- 
pany's officer, who traversed the other side of this spur up 
the valley of the Tseearkamisht, that route would seem to 
be even easier than the one I passed over. 

For about 400 feet perhaps the path we took was rather 
steep; but, from the general appearance of the ground, I 
am confident a more easy grade could be found. We 
reached the summit by noon; and for the whole of the 
rest of the day our path lay through a gorge by the side 
of a stream, till, about six o'clock, we passed round a small 
hill, and came to a little lake, called by Mr. McKay, Daisy 
Lake. Here we camped for the night. Some of the ground 
over which we had passed during the day was rather rough ; 
but after the travelling we had experienced between Jervis 
Inlet and Howe Sound, it was pleasant enough; and, as I 
was by this time beginning to feel very much fatigued, the 
prospect of an easy journey to Pemberton, in which I was not 
disappointed, was very agreeable. 

Next morning (14th) we crossed a low ridge, and imme- 
diately came upon the Tseearkamisht Eiver, which flows 
on the other side of it. This river here runs through a 
large basin, which appeared as if it had been lately inun- 
dated; and indeed had it not been for the dead trees still 
standing in it, I should have taken it for the bed of a lake 
from which the water had lately receded. Though the river 



Chap. IX. OVERLAND TO PORT PEMBERTON. 199 

itself was here 50 yards wide, the number of dead trees, 
which completely blocked it up at this point, made a capital 
floating bridge, and enabled us to cross quite easily. We 
then walked along the basin, which we found to be composed 
of sand covered with boulders of trap and granite for two 
miles, when we came to that part where the river still over- 
flowed its banks. The appearance of the country here was 
most remarkable. The trees were many of them very large, 
and the water, though lower than it had been, still stood 
six or eight feet up their trunks, giving them the appearance 
of a forest growing in water. As we advanced, a still more 
curious sight presented itself, for the trees having been 
burned by one of those fires so common in the bush, stood up 
all black and charred in the flood, looking as if there had been 
a struggle between fire and water for the mastery, in which 
both might claim a victory. While speaking of fire in the 
bush, 1 may mention that in former years — for it decreases 
yearly as the trees are cut down — these fires were so common 
along the coast as to cause a smoke all over the Straits that 
had the effect of a fog, and made them as difficult of navi- 
gation as in the thickest winter weather. 

From this point to our journey's end the way had been 
travelled previously by Mr. McKay, an officer of the Hudson 
Bay Company, whose name I have already mentioned. He 
had, however, gone the opposite way to that which I took, 
having started at Port Pemberton and from the Daisy Lake, 
following the Tseearkamisht down, while I had come up the 
Squawmisht. He consequently reached Howe Sound by the 
east side of the large valley mentioned at its head, while I 
went up the west ; and as, on comparing notes with him, I 
found he thought the side he took to be as good as mine, 
there can be little doubt of the favourable quality of the land 
there. 

After proceeding along the east bank of the river for six, 
miles we came to a small canon ; and about two miles 



200 HEAVY THUNDERSTORM. Chap. IX. 

beyond this again crossed the river on dead trees, and 
camped. This canon could be easily avoided by a. bridge 
built a little below it : it is of very small extent, the 
river being narrow, and the bank on the opposite side low 
and level. 

A five-mile walk next morning brought us to a lake which 
we found to extend, with an average breadth of one mile, 
about 10 miles in a north-easterly direction. Finding the 
Indians knew no name for it, I called it " Green Lake," from 
the remarkably green colour of the water. This was a very 
pleasant spot ; and coming upon a shady tree, with good grass 
growing beneath it, we halted for breakfast, and waited till 
noon to get a latitude. We then kept along its west bank to 
the head where there was a small patch of swamp, and cross- 
ing this, we came upon a fine beaten trail leading through a 
pleasant valley, which we kept till night. 

During the night we experienced one of the heaviest 
thunderstorms I ever heard in the bush. It was raining 
a little when we turned in, but there were no very threaten- 
ing indications of storm, although, doubtless, had we been in 
the open instead of among very large trees, where we could 
hardly see any sky, we should have been more prepared for 
it. As it was, about midnight we were awakened by a crash 
like the falling of an immense number of large trees, although 
the bright flash which almost instantly shot across the door 
of the tent showed us its cause. My poor crew suffered badly 
this night. The rain fell in torrents, putting out their fire, 
and drenching them thoroughly ; and though I soon dozed 
off again, their idea of supernatural agency in thunder and 
lightning, which I have mentioned when speaking of Indians 
generally, kept them awake all night ; and whenever I 
was roused by a particularly loud clap or a brighter flash 
than usual, I heard their shouts of terror or excitement 
mingling with the thunder's reverberation. In the forest 
depths a storm of this kind is certainly a most awful and im- 



Chap. IX. MOUNTAIN LAKES. 201 

posing spectacle. The clap of the thunder rings so much 
more than in an open space, while the reverberation continues 
through the forest with a succession of loud, sharp cracks 
like a number of distinct reports of cannon. A storm, too, 
appears so much nearer to you in the depth of a forest than 
when you see it on the plain. I have often stepped suddenly 
back into my tent when I have been watching it, fancying 
for the moment that the fork would strike the very spot on 
which I was standing, so vividly has the jagged line of light 
flashed across my face. The expression of fear on the 
Indians' faces on these occasions is beyond description ; they 
almost grow white through the coating of dirt on their skins ; 
and you can never get them to move about alone while the 
storm continues. 

Next day we continued our march in no very comfortable 
plight, every one and every thing wet through. As the sun 
rose, however, bright, clear, and warm, the past night appeared 
like a dream, for, except a few freshly-fallen trees and broken 
branches, no traces of the wild disturbance of the elements 
were seen. Our course all this day lay along the centre of 
a thickly-timbered valley with two or three small hills in it. 
Ascending one of these, about nine o'clock we saw the Lil- 
loett River four or five miles off, coming in from the westward 
between very high precipitous mountains, and beyond these 
appeared the snow-capped peaks, which, according to the 
Indians, surround the mountain lakes, in which, as I have 
said, the Lilloett, Squawmisht, Clahoose, Bridge, and other 
rivers take their rise. They describe it as a basin, very high 
up, containing four or five small lakes, in which rise all the 
larger rivers watering this part of the country. 

We soon came upon the Lilloett River, and followed its 
right bank till night, when we crossed one arm of it by an 
Indian bridge made over a fall of 200 or 300 feet, and there 
camped. We had crossed two or three steep mountain- 
shoulders during the latter part of the day, as this course 



202 MOSQU1TOS. Chap. IX. 

shortened the distance, and was preferable to keeping the 
valley on account of the density of the bush there. A tra- 
veller will find that Indians always prefer the mountain-side 
to traversing a valley, so that, in examining with them a 
line of country for a road, you hardly ever pass over the exact 
ground through which it would be carried. This should 
always be borne in mind in considering an Indian's report 
of any route, as, except where it crosses high mountains or 
rivers, his description would not convey to a road-cutter a 
very good idea of the work before him. 

It afforded me no small gratification when we halted that 
night to feel that it was our last out for this trip, and that 
we should be at Port Pemberton in good time next day.. 
The way, after passing the Squawmisht, was certainly much 
easier than before ; but travelling without a white com- 
panion is always very dull work ; and for the last day and 
a half the mosquitos had become almost intolerable, worse 
indeed than I had ever before known them to be even in 
British Columbia. Fortunately I had a small mosquito-net, 
which the Doctor had wisely insisted upon bringing, or I do 
not know what I should have done. Whenever we halted I 
hung this on cross sticks, and, getting inside, tucked it about 
me. When tea was ready, it was handed in to me under the 
net, watch being kept that none of the enemy entered with it. 
The poor Indians suffered terribly, though they coated them- 
selves with a mixture of oil and mud. At starting they had 
warned us that the " quileemuck " (mosquitoes) would kill 
us all when we got to the Lilloett ; and they certainly did 
their best to effect that purpose. Before we left the ship 
we had head-bags made of crape, and these were the only 
things that kept us from being devoured while we were 
walking. These were long veils which were fastened round 
the top of our straw hats, and tied in at the neck. We even 
went so far as to have small cane hoops inserted in them to 
keep them off the face. But these only answered in clear 



Chap. IX. LILLOETT MEADOWS. 203 

land, of which we found very little on this trip. In the bush 
the hoops were always catching the boughs of trees and tear- 
ing. The moment the bag touched your face you were 
bitten through it : the mosquitoes making nothing of any 
such trifling obstruction as the net of which it is com- 
posed. Indeed it was said by some of the officers engaged 
on the Boundary expeditions, that the mosquitoes were known 
to bite through two blankets! It should be said, however, 
that these plagues are only met with in these woods and on 
the Lower Fraser. The country above Fort Hope, for instance, 
is free, or almost free from them. And wherever the country 
is cleared they disappear. At Westminster, for example, 
they have become much less troublesome since the site of 
the town was cleared, although their disappearance cannot 
be looked for until the thick bush, which still hedges in the 
city closely, shall have yielded to the axes of the settlers. 
In Vancouver Island they are almost unknown. 

An hour's walk on the following morning brought us to 
the top of a hill from which we looked down on the 
Lilloett Meadows. A small lake, at certain seasons nearly 
dry, lay at our feet, and before us, for some miles east and 
west, dotted at long intervals with log huts — the ripe corn 
surrounding them, and the long hay which grew all over 
the plain sending up a delicious perfume — lay the Lilloett 
Meadows. Through them flowed the river, which came from 
the high rugged mountains in the east, where the fertile 
country ended. It was lovely weather, calm and bright as 
July mornings always are here, and the scene was most at- 
tractive and beautiful. Our sense of its charms was not a 
little heightened perhaps by the few signs of civilization 
before us, and the sight far off of the thin white smoke which 
told where the huts which constitute the important city of 
Pemberton, whither we were bound, lay. 

Descending to the little lake, we obtained a canoe from a 



204 REACH PORT PEMBERTON. Chap. IX. 

liut on the opposite side, and paddled across it, and for about 
a couple of miles down the main stream of the Lilloett. 
From this we walked four or five miles across the meadows, 
passing on our way several settlers gathering in their 
harvest, until we came to the river again. Obtaining another 
canoe there, we paddled down to Pemberton, which we 
reached at noon. The settlers whom I saw on the Lilloett 
Meadows spoke very highly of the soil, and the crops looked 
extremely fine. All were very busy building huts, sawing 
timber, and gathering in their summer crops. 

At Port Pemberton I found little or no alteration since 
I was there a year before. True it was somewhat startling, 
when I made inquiries for a boat that crossed the lake, to be 
told that the steamer had gone over that morning, and 
would not return till the following day. I was unwilling, 
however, to await its arrival ; and, having my own crew of 
Indians, I obtained the loan of a canoe, and we paddled 
across the lake, leaving our boat to be towed back by the 
steamer in the morning. 

The steamer was certainly not an imposing craft, being a 
mere wretched little tub 40 or 50 feet long, with no attempt 
at fittings. However, it was a great thing to find a steamer 
there at all ; and I have no doubt she answered the purpose 
for which she was intended very well. Since that time 
steamers have been placed upon the other lakes of the Har- 
rison-Lilloett route, and a considerable saving of time and 
expense in the journey to the Upper Fraser has been thus 
effected. 

We camped at the north end of the Little Lilloett, or 
Tenass, Lake, and next morning, as I heard the Engineers' 
camp was only a few miles further, I determined to push 
on there, in hopes of getting some change of diet, being 
rather tired of the bacon and dampers, of w 7 hich, moreover, 
we had been on short allowance for two or three days 



Chap. IX. POET DOUGLAS. 205 

before reaching Port Pemberton. I should have mentioned 
before — as a very favourable trait of the Indians who were 
with me — that when we ran short of flour, as we did during 
the last day or so of our journey, they would not eat any of 
the dampers, saying that I needed them, and that they could 
live quite as well on berries. Fortunately there was plenty 
of tea, and when we reached Pemberton, I was careful to 
recompense them for their unselfish thought of me. 

Eeaching the Engineers' camp, I was at once provided 
with a bed, and a good breakfast of bread-and-butter and 
mutton-chops, which I ate with a relish which must remain 
unknown to those to whom fortune denies the preliminary dis- 
cipline of rusty bacon and dampers. After breakfast I started 
for Port Douglas, the doctor from the camp accompanying 
me. Here the change was, indeed, great since my last visit. 
Then the traveller scrambled over this portage by a wretched 
trail, carried, quite unnecessarily, over the steepest hills and 
roughest places. Now, however, we were journeying along a 
waggon-road which would be no discredit to many parts of 
England. This had been, however, a work of great expense, 
costing at least 500?. a mile. A contract was afterwards 
entered into for the cutting of the succeeding portage from 
Port Pemberton to Anderson Lake, at 2601. per mile ; but 
the contractor failed completely. 

Upon this fine hard road — a rare treat after the walking 
we had lately had — the Indians were no match for us, and 
when we reached the four-mile house from Douglas, they 
were so far in the rear, and it was getting so late, that we 
decided to halt there for the night. Next morning we crossed 
" Sevastopol," as the steep hill which lies behind Douglas is 
named, and reached the port. Douglas, too, had improved 
somewhat within the year which had elapsed since I had seen 
it. The restaurants were decidedly better, and things gene- 
rally cheaper. The saw-mill in the gully leading down the 



206 SHIP GOES TO OBSERVE ECLIPSE. Chap. IX. 

mountain was finished, and had been at work for some time, 
while the mule-trains were larger and more numerous. Except, 
however, as a resting-place, or point of arrival and departure, 
Douglas does not promise to become of much consequence, as 
the site is very limited, and there is little if any land adapted 
for agricultural purposes in the neighbourhood. 

At Douglas we had to wait a day for the steamer ; travel- 
ling by her to Hope, we stayed the night there, reaching New 
Westminster by the noon, and Esquimalt by the evening of 
the day following. 

Eejoining Dr. Wood on board the ' Plumper,' I found that 
after he left me it had taken him a day and a half to reach 
New Westminster, and that he arrived just in time to see 
the < Plumper ' steaming out of the harbour. This was on the 
14th July, when the ship had gone to Puget Sound to make 
a series of observations on the eclipse which occurred on the 
night of the 16th and 17th, and of which they had an excel- 
lent view. The congratulations upon the success of their 
mission, which they received from the American officer in 
charge of the troops there, were couched in very characteristic 
language. He remained with them while the observations 
were being made, standing the while at a respectful distance. 
When they were finished he advanced, and, taking off his 
hat, said, "I congratulate the world generally, and science 
in particular, on the result of your labours, gentlemen." 

On the 12th of the month H.M.S. ' Termagant' arrived 
with the two gunboats, Forward and Grappler, which 
she had convoyed from England, and on the 30th our old 
companion, the ' Satellite,' left for home. She had been 
nearly four years in commission, three of which had been 
spent at this place. Her departure could scarcely fail to 
remind us of the change that had taken place since she had 
entered Esquimalt Harbour three years back. It was the 
first time that its waters had ever been disturbed by a steam- 



Chap. IX. ' TEKMAGANT ' RUNS ASHORE. 207 

ship of such a size ; and now, as she steamed out from the 
changed and busy port, homeward bound, she gave back the 
hearty cheers of two of Her Majesty's frigates, two sloops, and 
as many gunboats. 

On the 31st we left for Burrard Inlet and Nanaimo, in 
company with the ' Termagant ' and * Alert.' As we steamed 
through the ' Plumper,' now ' Active,' Pass, the ' Termagant ' 
met with an accident which well nigh turned out seriously 
for her. In rounding the point in the middle of the passage 
the current caught her bow, and she would not answer her 
helm. For a moment she appeared to be going stem on to 
the rocks, when she suddenly veered a little round, but not in 
time to clear them altogether. The rocky bank against 
which she grazed was, fortunately, sheer and steep, so that, 
although she heeled over so much that those watching her 
thought she must have capsized, she shot back into the middle 
of the stream, tearing up a tree with her foreyard, and throw- 
ing it over the yardarm, as though it had been a broomstick. 
Fortunately, although she leaked a good deal, she was able 
to go on, and we anchored in Burrard Inlet that night. 
Next morning we picked up the boats which had been at 
Jervis Inlet, and proceeded to Nanaiino. Here the damage 
done to the ' Termagant's' hull was found to be too low to be 
reached by heeling her over, and we went to Esquimalt to 
bring back the divers to examine her. Returning with them 
on the 5th, we remained at Nanaimo until the 8th, when the 
' Termagant ' being sufficiently repaired, we started to convoy 
the ' Alert ' to Rupert, whence, after assisting us in quelling 
a reported disturbance among the Indians of that place, she 
was to proceed to Sitka. Anchoring the first night in Tribune 
Bay, Hornby Island, by the next evening we reached Knox 
Bay, in Johnstone Straits. Upon passing Cape Mudge this 
time we found that the stockaded village which, upon our 
previous visits had been empty, was inhabited, the Strait 



208 ATMOSPHEEIC PHENOMENON. Chap. IX. 

being now full of fish. This habit among the Indians of 
changing their places of residence, not at any particular 
season, but as the fish and game shift their quarters, appears 
to have misled Vancouver, who, in passing, concluded all 
villages which he found uninhabited to have been deserted 
altogether by their people. 

Next day we went through Johnstone Strait, sounding all 
the way, and reached Port Harvey at night. Weighing 
anchor next morning, we got outside, when a thick fog came 
on, and, as we could not see any sounding-marks, we bore up 
again for the port. Here we experienced one of the curious 
atmospheric phenomena which are common to these parts. 
In the Strait a strong breeze was blowing from the north- 
west, bringing down with it a thick fog, while inside the 
harbour it was a dead calm, and perfectly clear. I have 
noticed this and similar peculiarities frequently in this 
Strait. The northerly wind appears always to bring the fog 
down from the Russian coast, and it will remain in the Strait 
until a southerly breeze springs up, while, curiously enough, 
the large harbours at either side of the passage are wholly 
unaffected by it. 

On Monday morning we left Port Harvey, reaching Cor- 
morant Bay at 10 a.m. Here I was left with two boats to 
continue the survey, while the ships proceeded to Rupert. 
Arriving there they found the Indians recovering from a de- 
bauch, consequent on their having paid a visit to Victoria, 
from which place they had returned with an abundant supply 
of spirits. Their conduct had, according to the report of Mr. 
Weynton, the officer of the Hudson Bay Company in charge 
of the station, been more furious than on any previous occa- 
sion, and as some of his men had joined in the debauch, 
he became rather alarmed for the safety of the fort. The 
Indian population had, it appeared, been much excited by 
the murder of A-kush-ma, one of their chiefs, by a Songhies 



Chap. IX. " PALAVER " WITH INDIANS. 209 

Indian, wlien they were leaving Victoria, and they were now 
planning a campaign to the southward to avenge his death. 
Upon their way up they had had a brush with the Indians at 
Nanainio and carried off a woman, named Hu-saw-i, whose 
husband had appealed to the authorities for redress. Captain 
Eichards had visited Rupert for the purpose, among other 
things, of recovering her; but he saw that in their present 
excited state caution was necessary : so word was sent to the 
chiefs, who were somewhat impressed by the show of force 
made, that he desired to have a " war-war " (speech) with 
them upon several important matters next day. 

Accordingly on the following morning he landed with several 
officers and proceeded to the fort. Judging, however, from 
the conduct which they would most probably pursue in such a 
case, the Indians, suspecting treachery, steadfastly refused to 
enter the gates of the fort, so the palaver was held outside in 
front of their lodges. In his address to them Captain Richards 
explained, through Mr. Hunt — who was one of the employes 
of the Hudson Bay Company and who spoke their language — 
that the time had come when it would not do for them to take 
the law into their own hands ; that Mr. Douglas, who had been 
informed of their conduct, was very angry with them, and was 
determined to punish them if they did not behave better ; that 
they must no longer kill in retaliation, but be satisfied that 
all murderers would be duly tried by law, and if found guilty, 
executed. At this moment the brother of the murdered chief 
interposed, and nearly brought the meeting to a close in some 
confusion by jumping up and announcing his intention of 
going at once with all the men he could get to revenge his 
brother's death. This was mere bravado, however, and he 
was soon pacified. At last, after a great deal of violent 
language and action, the chiefs said they were quite willing 
to give up their custom of killing and making slaves, if the 
other tribes of the island would amend their ways also. One 
old chief at this juncture was very eloquentrupon the neglect of 



210 " PALAVEE " WITH INDIANS. Chap. IX. 

his tribe by the missionaries. " Why," he asked, " was no one 
sent to teach their young men what was right ? It was very 
well for us to assert that what they (the Indians) had learned 
from their forefathers was wrong, but why was not care taken 
to explain this, and to teach them better ways? They felt 
ashamed," he said, " before the Tsimsheans, whose young men 
were learning to read and write, and knew so much more than 
they did. Why was Mr. Duncan sent past Eupert to Fort 
Simpson, and no one sent to them ? " He was assured that the 
desire of his people for instruction should be made known to 
Mr. Douglas, and that no doubt teachers would shortly visit 
them. At last, therefore, they handed one of their poles over 
to Captain Eichards in token of the palaver having ended ami- 
cably and of their assent to his wishes, and gave their promise 
that they would not go on the intended foray southward. 

After this followed the slave question. They had somehow 
got wind of our purpose, and, suspecting that she would be 
claimed of them, had on the previous night sent their captive 
across to the mainland. At first they refused to give her up 
for less ransom than 100 blankets, and then seeing this would 
not be submitted to, they asserted that she had left them and 
was three days' journey away. Captain Eichards, therefore, 
gave them three days' time to bring her on board, saying that 
he should remain there with both ships, and use force if she 
were not forthcoming at the end of that period. Feeling con- 
vinced at last that it was of no use holding out longer, they 
said that they would send at once for her, and asked for some 
payment for the men who should be despatched. This was 
promised, and she was brought on board two days later. 

Had it not been for the presence of the e Alert,' Ave should 
probably have had great difficulty in inducing them to give 
up this slave. The stand they made in the presence of so 
much force was very significant of the attachment with which 
they cling to this among other habits of their restless, pre- 
datory lives. The" old chief's questions, however, about Mr. 



Chap. IX. ME. DUNCAN. 211 

Duncan, showed a desire to learn, which the old men among 
the Indians certainly feel for their children's sakes, but for 
which they do not generally get credit. There is no doubt 
that men of Mr. Duncan's stamp, who will in a frank, manly 
spirit go among them diffusing the blessings of religion and 
education, will meet with a cordial reception and an abundant 
reward. But without any desire to disparage or dishearten 
others, I must say that Mr. Duncan impressed us as a man of 
ten thousand, possessing, with abundant energy and zeal, that 
talent for acquiring the confidence and love of his fellow- 
creatures, which all who came in his way, were they whites 
or Indians, could not fail to acknowledge and feel subject to. 

The * Alert ' proceeded on her voyage on the 17 th, and on 
the 18th the ' Otter' arrived with our mails, and having Mr. 
Duncan on board and with him the Rev. Mr. Tugwell, who it 
was intended should take his place at Fort Simpson while he 
(Mr. Duncan) went to Victoria to establish schools there. 
The following extract from Mr. Duncan's Journal, descriptive 
of his interview with Captain Richards, who was just then 
much impressed by the desire expressed by the Indians to re- 
ceive European teachers, will no doubt bo read with interest : — 

" Aug. 19. — This evening we arrived at Fort Rupert and 
found H.M.S. 'Plumper' in the harbour. Went on board 
and was warmly greeted by Captain Richards, who astonished 
me by saying he had just been writing about me to the 
Admiral. I read his despatch. It stated that he had had 
some trouble with the Indians of that place, and at a large 
meeting they had asked him why Mr. Duncan was not sent 
to teach them, and then insisted on the injustice of my being 
sent over their heads to the Tsimshean Indians. During 
my conversation with Captain Richards, he said the business 
he had just had with the Indians convinced him that it was 
not our ships of war that were wanted up the coast, but mis- 
sionaries. The Indian's ignorance of our power and strong 
confidence in his own, in addition to his natural savage temper, 

p2 



212 A KESCUED SLAVE. Chap. IX. 

render him unfit to be dealt with at present by stern .and 
unyielding men of war, unless his destruction be contem- 
plated, which of course is not. ' Then,' asked the captain, 
' why do not more men come out, since your mission has been 
so successful; or, if the missionary societies cannot afford 
them, why does not Government send out fifty, and place them 
up the coast at once ? Surely it would not be difficult to find 
fifty good men in England willing to. engage in such a work ? 
and their expenses would be almost nothing compared with 
the cost which the country must sustain to subdue the Indians 
by force of arms.' Such are the earnest sentiments of one of 
Her Majesty's naval captains while among the Indians."* 
And such, I may add, are the sentiments of myself — in 
common, I believe, with all my brother officers — after nearly 
&ve years' constant and close intercourse with the natives of 
Vancouver Island and the coast of British Columbia. 

Kejoining the ' Plumper ' on the 20th, I found the rescued 
slave Hu-saw-i in full possession of the after cockpit. There is 
no accounting for tastes, of course ; but it was fortunate for 
Hu-saw-i that her husband esteemed her more than we did, or 
I fear she would have been left to the tender mercies of her 
captors. She was one of the ugliest, dirtiest specimens of an 
old squaw I have ever had the pleasure of meeting ; and during 
the ten days we had her on board, she excited, I fear, anything 
but sympathy among us. She was turned over to the charge 
of the serjeant-major, a dress being made for her of printed 
calico, which, with sundry other garments, she was desired to 
wear, besides being told to make herself as decent and clean as 
her habits would permit. The first thing to be done was to in- 
duce her to give up possession of her filthy blanket and to take 
a bath, to both of which proceedings she expressed decided re- 
pugnance. The sergeant, who was a most strict-service man, 
treated all men and women as stores put under his charge, 

* Mr. Duncan's letters to the Church Missionary Society. 



Chap. IX. A PUNCTILIOUS SERJEANT. 213 

and for which he was responsible till relieved by his com- 
manding officer. He could not speak a word to Hu-saw-i, 
and his endeavours — crowned I should add with perfect suc- 
cess — to get her to do what was ordered, were most amusing. 
First he was told that she was to be cleaned and dressed. 
Keceiving the order just as he would have done one to " cane 
a boy," or put any one in the Black List, he carried it out to 
the letter, and then came with a military salute and reported 
" Old woman cleaned, sir." As punctiliously he took her food 
to her or saw that she got it, while he used to visit her like a 
prisoner three or four times a-day to make sure that she was 
all right. The poor old creature was all this while in a great 
fright, and I have no doubt in her heart wished herself back 
among her enemies. All clay long she would stand at the 
fore end of the passage which went round our chart-room, 
and every time we turned to walk aft along the quarter-deck 
would begin to wave her hand and cry " Ah ! Tyee, Tyee !" 
(Ah! chief, chief!) in the most piteous voice imaginable, till 
we were faifly driven off deck. On the 27th, however, much 
to our delight, we got rid of her, sending her in the ' Shark ' 
(our decked pinnace), to catch the * Otter ' on her way down 
to Victoria. The sergeant accompanied her to the last, seeing 
her on board, and reporting, with the utmost gravity, " Old 
woman's in the boat, sir." 

This sergeant was the source of much amusement to us. 
His notions of service were of the strictest and most laughable 
kind. One of his company having lost a thumb, he applied 
persistently to the Captain for a certificate of the accident, 
and was most uncomfortable at his refusal, regarding it in 
precisely the same light as the loss of a knapsack or rifle. 
He argued that the man having left the " division " with two 
thumbs, he, the sergeant, was responsible for his being 
returned into store with only one, and must show that its 
loss was correct, and not owing to any negligence on his, 
the sergeant's, part. I remember, when the * Plumper ' was 



214 BOAT EXPEDITION. Chap. IX. 

actually heaving up her anchor, homeward bound, and we 
were just leaving the ship, he came up to me, and begged me 
to speak to Captain Eichards about it, " as he was still with- 
out a certificate for that man's thumb, and really ought to 
have one to satisfy his Colonel ! " 

On the 21st the ship went on to Shucartie, a bay 20 miles 
northward of Fort Eupert, where we experienced very foggy 
and rainy weather, which made our observations most uncer- 
tain and otherwise delayed our work. Winds from the north- 
west prevailed here ; with them, as I before said, comes the 
fog, and, so troublesome did we find it, that not more than 
one day in three was available for working purposes. 

On the 27th we went on to Bull Harbour, in Hope Island, 
opposite the northern extreme of Vancouver Island, where 
we remained till Monday the 3rd of September, when it 
was determined to make a start to the southward, the ship 
going outside Vancouver Island, while I went down inside 
with two boats to finish off some work and go up the Squaw- 
misht Eiver. The weather at this time, though still very 
pleasant at Victoria, begins to be very bad at the north end 
of the island ; rain, fog, and strong north-westerly winds pre- 
vailing, while the nights, though usually calm and clear, are 
cold. Wild-fowl also began to make their appearance in 
large quantities from the northward, reminding us unplea- 
santly of the near approach of winter. We were not sorry, 
therefore, to receive orders to move southwards. 

On the morning of the 3rd, I started with the gig and 
' Shark,' the latter carrying the provisions, &c, for which we 
had no room in the boat. Our cruise was to extend over 350 
miles, and, as there was a good deal to be done on the way. 
we made preparations for a cruise of at least a month. The 
ship towed us out of the harbour, and then turned northward, 
while we kept down the channel to the south. Having fair 
wind and tide we reached Fort Eupert by noon, where we 
remained all night to wait for the < Shark,' which had some 



Chap. IX. DAILY ROUTINE. 215 

work to do by the way. At Rupert we laid in a great stock 
of vegetables, which lasted us nearly all our cruise ; and pro- 
ceeding on our journey next morning, reached Beaver Cove, 
in which neighbourhood we remained for two days. I have 
not yet, I think, described camp-life when away with boats ; 
and as it differs somewhat from camp-life in the bush, I will 
now attempt it. To begin with, it is much pleasanter work 
than roughing it in the bush ; for, instead of cutting down 
everything to the smallest possible limit, you are able to 
carry many comforts with you. A large bell-tent accommo- 
dates the men, and, if you have a roomy boat, you will pro- 
bably take a small tent for yourself also. In addition to 
these, a canteen, a box, fitted for holding cups, plates, knives, 
and forks ; tins for tea and coffee, and bottles for grog, if you 
take any, are requisite. The same stock of clothes for boat 
and bush excursion is necessary, the crew washing theirs on 
Sunday. Objections are sometimes made to this work being 
done on that day, and Saturday evening is recommended for 
the purpose, — when the men are likely to be so tired as to 
neglect the task. The bush, however, is so thick ordinarily, 
that it rarely happens that the tent is pitched in a spot where 
the men can get a walk on the Sunday morning ; and I think 
this employment before prayer-time very useful. 

The daily routine of life in the boats differs, of course, 
very much from that in the bush. Instead of working 
before breakfast the day begins with that meal. Breakfast 
over, the boats are launched or unmoored, and operations 
begun for the day at an hour depending a great deal upon 
the work to be got through, and ranging generally from 
6 to 8. About noon — or as near to that time as an appro- 
priate spot for the meal was reached — we halted for dinner, 
and, resting for an hour, continued our work until the 
evening, taking care, however, to get our tent pitched and 
boats moored before dark. It was always necessary to keep 



216 DAILY ROUTINE, Chap. IX. 

a watch all night, as some Indians were pretty sure to be 
lurking about in the neighbourhood on the look-out for a 
chance of thieving. When among the northern tribes, 
also, there was always some fear, more or less, of their 
attacking us. I remember, when we first began work in 1858, 
paying for my neglect of watch-keeping with the loss of a 
double-barrelled fowling-piece. We were in the American 
territory, on the east side of the Bellingham Channel. When 
we camped we had not seen any Indians near, and, having a 
dog with us, I did not think it worth setting a watch. We 
had been some time away from the ship, and, having used 
all my powder and shot, instead of taking my gun into the 
tent as usual, I left it in the boat, which was hauled up on 
the beach. About the middle of the night we were awakened 
by the dog barking violently, but, running out of the tent, 
could see nothing. The dog was soon quiet, and we attri- 
buted the disturbance to a deer, and went to sleep again. In 
the morning, the coxswain said to me, " That was a deer last 
night, sir ; here are his tracks all round the tent." I thought 
no more about it, till walking down to a station close by I 
saw a marten, and, knowing I had one barrel of my gun still 
loaded, called for it. The coxswain went to the boat to fetch 
it, when it was found to have disappeared, and there could 
be no doubt that it had been taken during the night. Close 
behind the tent was a deep ditch, into which the thief must 
have jumped when the dog heard him, and so escaped. 

On Saturdays we usually camped a little earlier than on 
other days, so that the boats might be cleaned out, &c. Sun- 
days were always spent in camp ; Church-service being read 
in the forenoon. 

Such was our surveying life. The men generally managed 
to procure salmon, venison, potatoes, &c, from the natives ; 
so that, as a rule, we did not fare badly, although sometimes 
we had what the seamen called very hungry cruises. On the 



Chap. IX. MEET MR. DOWNIE. . 217 

whole, it was a happy life enough, and the time passed 
pleasantly and swiftly. 

On Monday the 10th we proceeded down the Strait and 
reached Point Chatham on the 13th, the only thing we had 
to complain of being the weather. It rained constantly, and 
at such short intervals that there was no time to get our 
things dry between the showers. In going down Johnstone 
Strait we met Mr. Downie, in his schooner, on his way to 
Knight Inlet. He had shortly before discovered plumbago 
there, and was on his way for a cargo of it, which was, he 
hoped, to make his fortune. He gave us some newspapers 
and a supply of apples, which were by no means unacceptable. 
We passed Cape Mudge on the 15th, and reached the little 
island of Mittlenatch, which lies six or eight miles off it, by 
night, and there spent our second Sunday. The * Shark ' 
had not been able to reach the island, and had been obliged 
to seek shelter elsewhere, from which, however, she was 
subsequently driven by a gale that sprang up. We picked 
her up on Monday ; and having put a mark on Savary 
Island, we proceeded together to Texhada Island, which 
we reached the same evening, remaining here all Tuesday 
(18th), and reaching the entrance of Howe Sound on Wed- 
nesday. Leaving the ' Shark ' to take soundings about the 
entrance, 1 started for its head, being desirous, if I could get 
a canoe, to ascend the Squawmisht River, and reach the 
village which we had visited when on the way from Jervis 
Inlet to Port Pemberton. Reaching the mouth of the river 
on the morning of the 20th, we found the village there deserted 
by all save one old man and a little boy. I was beginning to 
despair of getting up the river, when to my great delight, 
Peter, the chief of the village I wished to go to, made his 
appearance. He had heard of our arrival, and had dropped 
down the stream from his temporary village about two miles 
up, where he was fishing, to see who we were. He imme- 



218 ASCEND THE SQUAWMISHT IN A CANOE. Chap. IX. 

diately recognised me and agreed to take me up on the 
following day. Accordingly, having selected a good place 
to leave the boat in, I started next morning with Peter and 
three other Indians up the river. As I have spoken of this 
river in the beginning of the chapter, I will only say now 
that we reached the village that evening ; and as it poured 
with rain all night and not a star showed itself in the heavens, 
I was glad to sleep in Peter's lodge and wait for the sun 
next day. Here I experienced the hospitality I have always 
received from Indians when alone with them. They cleared 
everything out of one end of the large hut, and put a barrier 
across, so that no children or dogs could come near me, and 
kept my fire alight all night. The children certainly were 
models of quietness ; for although there were no fewer than 
30 or 40 in the lodge, I hardly heard a sound all night. 
Altogether there were 50 or 60 men, women, and children 
in the place ; but, except an occasional bark by one of 
the dozen dogs who slept under the same roof, and who 
was probably chasing a deer in his dreams, not a sound 
disturbed me. 

Dropping down the river next day, and rejoining the boat 
at 6 p.m. on the following morning, we started down the 
Sound, and after a few days' cruise — which, with the boat- 
trip altogether, would have been pleasant enough but for the 
constant rain — reached Esquimalt. 

Kemaining some time in harbour — during which several 
changes among the other vessels took place, and we hoisted 
the garland * for the second time during our cruise, in honour 
of the marriage of our first lieutenant — we started on the 
13th for our last cruise in the old 'Plumper' to Howe 
Sound. We remained here, struggling against the rain and 

* It is the custom on board men-of-war to hoist a garland of flowers to the 
mast-head, between sunrise and sunset, when a wedding takes place among 
the officers. 



Chap. IX. ARRIVAL OF THE ' HECATE.' 219 

wind that did its best to convince us that the time had 
arrived for giving up work for the winter, until the 28th, 
when we went to New Westminster, where we remained 
until the 1st of November. Crossing the Gulf to Nanaimo 
for coal, we proceeded to Esquimalt, where we commenced 
our winter chart-work and made preparations for turning- 
over to the * Hecate,' which we knew had left England in 
June last, and might arrive at any moment. 

On the 14th we were much shocked by the sudden death 
of poor Bull, our master and senior assistant-surveyor. His 
death was quite unexpected, and cast a gloom over us all. 
It was but ten months since he had been married, and had 
built himself a house near the harbour, where he died 
without the slightest warning or previous illness. On the 
day previous to his death he had been working with us all 
at the office. 

On the 12th of December a requisition was sent by the 
Governor for a vessel to go to Nootka Sound, to see what 
assistance could be rendered to a Peruvian brigantine which 
was on shore there, a message having been sent by the crew 
that they expected hourly to be killed by the natives. As 
almost invariably happens in these cases, it proved that the 
white men had provoked an attack — one of them threatening 
to chop an Indian down with his axe. At the same time we 
heard that one or two other vessels had been lost on the coast 
in the heavy gales which had prevailed since the beginning of 
November. Accordingly on the 16th, the 'Forward' was 
sent out to hunt up the wreck, Browning, one of our second 
masters, going in her as pilot. 

On the 23rd of December H.M.S. ' Hecate' made her 
appearance, and it may be fancied how eagerly we all hurried 
on board to see what our new home was like. We were 
greatly delighted with the change, for though possessing no 
external beauty, she was very roomy and comfortable 



220 OUR FOURTH CHRISTMAS. Chap. IX. 

within — my new cabin alone being nearly as large as our 
mess-room of the ' Plumper.' It was decided that we were 
to take possession of the new ship on the 1st of the coming 
year, all of us joining her except Moriarty, the 1st Lieu- 
tenant, who was to go home with the ' Plumper.' Our fourth 
Christmas was spent in the usual way, finishing with a dinner 
at the Captain's house. 



Chap. X. WE JOIN THE ' HECATE.' 221 



CHAPTER X. 



Turn over to the ' Hecate ' — Preparations for Summer's Work — Trip to 
West Coast to look for the ' Forward ' — Visit Nootka Sound — Survey of 
Barclay and Clayaquot Sounds, and Eemarks ou West Coast of the Island 
— Promotion — Ship runs ashore. 

We began the year 1861 by joining our new ship, and 
immediately commenced such alterations as the ' Hecate's ' 
fittings required for the work before her. We had hardly 
got on board, however, and had not half "shaken down," 
when the non-appearance of the ' Forward ' caused so much 
anxiety that Captain Richards decided upon going out to 
look for her. Accordingly on the 4th we were under weigh 
in our new ship, and steaming out of the Strait of Fuca. 
The 'Forward' had at this time been absent quite a fort- 
night longer than she ought to have been, and as we knew 
that heavy gales had been prevalent outside the Straits, it was 
natural some anxiety should be felt for her, although most of 
us' as yet trusted in the general luck of her commander, 
Robson (who, poor fellow ! has since been killed), for picking 
himself up somewhere. Browning, too, who had accompanied 
the 'Forward,' knew the coast thoroughly; and we, there- 
fore, as yet attributed her absence to some accident in her 
machinery. Subsequently, however, we began to feel seriously 
alarmed for her safety. 

We reached Nootka Sound in the afternoon of the fol- 
lowing day, and, passing Friendly Cove, steamed up to 
the Boca del Infierno, and anchored in a small place 
called Island Harbour. Here we communicated with the 
natives, but could only hear that a steamer had been there 
and left some time ago. Next day (6th) we left Island 



222 SEARCH FOR THE 'FORWARD.' Chap. X. 

Harbour, and went to the Tasis village, but without learning 
anything more. On our way out we despatched a boat-party 
to Friendly Cove, and there found a board with a broad 
arrow cut upon it, but no notice. This we afterwards learned 
had been put up by a Mr. Lennard, who was cruising about 
the west coast on the look-out for furs, in his cutter, the 
4 Templar.' We remained outside all night, jogging slowly 
down the coast towards Barclay Sound, which we entered 
next morning, and proceeded to the settlement at the 
head of the Alberni Canal. Here we remained all night, 
but got no further information, and next morning steamed 
to Uclulet at the north entrance of the Sound, where 
we found five men of the 'Florentia,' the vessel which 
the ' Forward' had been despatched to look for, and which 
had been wrecked 12 miles north of this point, together with 
several of the crew of the American brig ' Consort,' which had 
also been lost on the coast 90 miles beyond Nootka. From 
these, whom we took on board, we learned that the ' Forward' 
had arrived at Friendly Cove on the 19th of December, and 
hearing there of the wreck of the ' Consort,' had gone to 
rescue her crew ; that she returned to Friendly Cove, having 
eighteen of the ' Consort's ' crew on board, and, taking the 
'Florentia' in tow, had started with her for the Strait of 
Fuca. Outside Nootka Sound it appeared that they expe- 
rienced a considerable swell, and twice parted the chain by 
which the ' Florentia ' was towed, but succeeded each time 
in getting it on board again. About 8 in the evening, 
however, the ' Forward' dropped close to the 'Florentia,' 
and Eobson (her commander) hailed to say he could not tow 
her any longer, and immediately cast her off, — or the chain 
parted again, — they were not sure which. The ' Forward' 
then ran across the ' Florentia's ' stem, steering for Xootka, 
and was lost sight of in ten minutes, since which they had 
neither seen nor heard anything of her. The 'Florentia' 
had afterwards drifted ashore again, and been totally lost. 



Chap. X. EETUKN OF THE 'FORWARD.' 223 

Captain Richards, upon a consideration of these facts, came 
to the conclusion that if the ' Forward ' had entered any of the 
Sounds, the Indians would have known of it, and that she 
had probably by this time got back to Esquimalt. We, 
therefore, returned thither, reaching it on the 10th, but to 
our surprise and alarm, Ave found nothing had been heard of 
her. It was at once determined that the ' Plumper ' should 
start in search of her, this time examining the whole of 
the west coast, and communicating with Fort Rupert upon 
the chance of her having gone round the island. On the 
11th, therefore, the 'Plumper' left, and as day after day 
passed without our obtaining any news of the missing gun- 
boat from her or any other source, we, waiting anxiously at 
Esquimalt, began to give up all hope. 

On the afternoon of the 15th, however, when sitting in my 
cabin, I was told that an officer was coming alongside, and 
on going up the ladder, great was my surprise to find Browning 
standing at the top of it ! I have said he had gone as pilot 
in the ' Forward,' and had he delayed making his appearance 
for a few days later, it is not unlikely that he would have 
found his kit sold as " dead and run men's effects." There 
he was, however, and he told us he had come in from the 
' Forward,' which was outside the harbour, and would arrive 
in an hour. He explained that they had parted company 
with the ' Florentia,' on account of the crown of one of the 
furnaces coming down, and, returning to Friendly Cove, 
had patched this up as well as they could, and started for 
Esquimalt. Outside they met strong easterly gales, which 
blew without intermission, and so hard that they could make 
no head against them. After several days' struggle, Eobson 
having 20 shipwrecked men on board in addition to his own 
crew, began to fear that they might fall short of provisions, 
and at last determined to bear up and go round the north 
end of the island, knowing that they could get supplies of 



224 < PLUMPER ' SAILS FOR ENGLAXD. Chap. X. 

some sort at Eupert, which place they reached finally with 
no worse mishaps on the way than running short of pro- 
visions and coal. 

On the 18th the ' Plumper' returned from her search, 
having learned at Eupert that the gunboat had passed down 
the Strait, and on the 28th our old ship sailed for England 
amid most vociferous cheering from those she left behind. 
Our winter work in the office, which I have before made 
mention of, went on much as usual ; while, on board, the boats 
were being fitted up, and other preparations made for the 
coming summer. The ' Shark ' which had before been only 
half-decked, was now completely decked over, and turned 
into a regular schooner, capable of navigating the west coast 
of the island. On the 23rd of February we had official news 
of Sir T. Maitland's assuming command of the station, and 
changed our flag for the third admiral since we came out. 

By the middle of March everything was ready for a start, 
the ship caulked, chart-room fitted, our pinnace converted 
into a schooner, and all the boats ready, and on the 22nd we 
left Esquimait for the Fraser Eiver to lay down our second 
set of buoys at its entrance. The ' Forward ' went with us to 
assist in this operation, and we both anchored that night off 
Port Eoberts. Next day we entered the Fraser and steamed 
up to New Westminster, without any let or hindrance. This 
was subject of great rejoicing to the people of Westminster, 
as no steamer of the ' Hecate's ' size (850 tons) had before 
ascended the river, and it showed unmistakeably that it was 
practicable for large vessels to do so. So delighted were the 
people of Westminster, indeed, that they wanted to entertain 
Captain Eichards at a public banquet, a .deputation of 
citizens waiting on him with that object. This, however, he 
steadfastly declined, representing that all he had done was 
his duty, and that he had come to buoy the mouth of their 
river, not to feast. So they contented themselves with pre- 



Chap. X. DRIFTING SANDS. 225 

senting him with a complimentary address. From the 25th to 
the 29th the surveying officers were employed in the ' Forward ' 
placing the buoys. The difficulty of keeping these buoys in 
their places, which is very great, arises from the number of 
large trees which are floated off the banks of the river when 
the water is high, and come down the stream carrying every- 
thing before them. The buoys now put down were large spars 
fitted with a running chain through the heel, and moored to 
heavy weights in such a way that anything on a line with 
them would only dip them under water and pass over. The 
bottoms of the weights were hollowed out so that they might 
work themselves down into the sand, and so keep in their 
places. Considerable difference of opinion still exists as to 
whether these sands drift and change their position. My 
opinion is that they do, although not to the extent that some 
affirm. In thick weather the leading marks upon them are 
not of course visible, and the masters of ships losing their 
course and grounding are likely enough to lay their mishap 
to the shifting of the sands rather than to the right cause. 
On the 29th we crossed to Nanaimo and filled up with coal, 
and on the 5th April went to Esquimalt, where we found 
that the ' Bacchante,' with the new admiral, Sir T. Maitland, 
on board, had arrived, together with the * Topaze ' and ' Tartar.' 
The spring weather had now fairly set in, and we felt that 
working time had commenced. This winter (1860-1) had been 
by far the finest and mildest we had experienced since we 
came to the island, there being but a few days' frost in the 
month of January, while even then the thermometer sank 
only a few degrees below zero.* We knew, however, that the 
season on the west coast, to which we were going, was later 
than that inside the island, and so we waited until the 17th 
before we started. 

* This has been fully compensated by the winter of 1861-2, which has been 
the most severe that can be remembered. 



226 BARCLAY SOUND. Chap. X. 

We left Esquimalt on the night of the 17th, and anchored 
in Port San Juan on the morning of the 18th. I have before 
mentioned this harbour, which lies at the entrance of the 
Strait of Fuca on the north. Some gold had recently been 
found in -Gordon River which runs into its head, and a party 
had started to work it ; but although the precious mineral 
undoubtedly existed there, it was not found in quantities 
sufficiently remunerative to induce them to remain. 

On the 19th we reached the head of the Alberni Canal, 
and anchored about a mile off the saw-mills. Although we 
had visited this place before in the ' Plumper,' 1 have as yet 
given no description of it. As it is already a considerable 
settlement, and likely to become of some importance, it 
claims, I think, some passing notice. 

Barclay Sound, as it is now spelt, at the head of which the 
Alberni settlement is placed, should properly, I believe, be 
" Berkely," as it was named by Captain Berkely of the ship 
' Imperial Eagle,' who in 1787 discovered, or rather redis- 
covered, the Strait of Fuca. Its eastern entrance is a little 
more than 30 miles north-west of Cape Flattery, and the 
whole length of the sound is 35 miles. The entrance, which 
is six or eight miles across, is filled with small islands and 
low rocks, many under water, over which the sea breaks with 
great violence during the prevalence of southerly winds, 
giving to the entrance a greater appearance of danger than 
really exists. Into this sound there are passages from the west 
and the east, of which the latter, although the narrower, is to be 
preferred, from the fact that there are no sunken rocks in the 
channel. It is proposed to erect a light on Cape Beale, the 
southern cape of Barclay Sound, which will no doubt be of 
great use to navigators making the Strait of Fuca. In the 
winter time, when the weather is so often thick and foggy, it 
frequently happens that observations cannot be obtained for 
two or three days before making the land, and the navigator 



Chap. X. BARCLAY SOUND. 227 

does not like to keep in for Cape Flattery, for fear of getting 
under the American coast, where there is a perfect nest of 
rocks. A light on Cape Beale would enable him to make the 
island shore with considerably less anxiety than at present, 
and he could find shelter in Barclay Sound if he preferred 
waiting for clear weather before making the Strait, as the 
winds which most endanger ships here blow on to Vancouver 
shore, and are consequently fan into the Sound. Like all 
the sounds of the west coast of Vancouver Island, Barclay is 
subdivided into several smaller sounds or arms, running five 
or six, or sometimes more, miles inland. Of these the 
Uclulet arm is just within the west entrance, and inside this, 
as you coast round the west shore, is the Toquart, Effingham, 
Ouchucklesit, and several others, almost all containing good 
anchorage. In Ouchucklesit coal has been found, which will 
probably be of great value to the settlement. The scarcely 
less valuable commodity of limestone of very good quality 
has been discovered here. At the mills they used large 
quantities of it. Previously to its discovery they were 
entirely dependant on the clam-shells which the Indians leave 
in very large quantities on the beaches where they dig up the 
fish. Some of these arms are very curious, running in a straight 
line, or very nearly so, 5 or 6 miles between mountains 3000 
or 4000 feet high, with a breadth in many places of not more 
than 50 yards, and yet 30 or 40 fathoms deep up to the head, 
which is invariably flat with a river running through it. 
Fifteen miles above the entrance, the sound narrows to half 
a mile, and the Alberni Canal commences. This continues 
at about the same width for 20 miles, where it opens out 
into a large harbour, on the east side of which is the Alberni 
Settlement. Extending north-west from the settlement is 
an extensive valley, which terminates in a large lake 5 or 
6 miles from the head of the canal or inlet, and above this 
is another large lake, separated from the lower one by 
a mountain-ridge. These lakes were each estimated by 

q2 



228 SAW-MILL COMPANY. Chap. X, 

Captain Stamp, who examined them, to be SO miles long and 
1 to 2 miles broad. 

From the southern of these lakes runs the Somass Eiver, 
which, being joined by another river having its rise in the 
upper lake, flows into the Alberni Canal. A very great 
volume of water comes down by this river, so much indeed 
that at the end of the ebb-tide the water alongside the ship 
was quite fresh, though we lay a mile from its mouth. On 
both banks of the Somass, and indeed all over the valley, 
the soil is very rich, and the timber magnificent- — the 
Douglas pine (Abies Douglasii), growing to an enormous 
size, and the white pine, oak, and yellow cypress also 
abounding. Of these, however, more will be said when I 
come to speak of the timber of the country generally. This 
tract of country has been granted upon lease to the Saw- 
Mill Company, who have a farm upon it under cultiva- 
tion, and are commencing a brisk trade in spars and lumber. 
It was here that the flagstaff which is erected in Kew 
Gardens was cut. As these mills are by far the largest and 
most important in the colony, a short description of them 
may interest the reader. 

They have been erected in a most solid fashion, and at a 
heavy outlay, by English labourers, and with English ma- 
chinery. They contain two gangs of saws capable of cutting 
about 18,000 feet of lumber (plank) daily, and in the 
best way, as is proved by the high price obtained for it at 
Melbourne. Seventy white men are employed at and about 
the premises, so that the place has all the appearance of a 
flourishing little settlement. Two schooners and two steamers 
are also employed by the Company here, the former trading 
with Victoria and bringing the necessary supplies to the 
place. One of the steamers, the ' Diana,' a little tug, also 
trades to Victoria, and is used besides for towing vessels 
up to and away from the mills. The second steamer, the 
* Thames ' has not yet reached the colony, but is on her way 



Chap. X. ALBERNI. 229 

out from England. In addition to these, several ships are 
employed in the spar trade between the colony and Europe, 
but the desire of the company is to sell on the spot. 

The Alberni Mills possess several advantages over similar 
rival undertakings in Puget Sound, which are now beginning 
to be appreciated by merchants, and still more by the masters 
of ships. One of the chief of these lies in its accessibility, 
for Alberni being situated on the outside coast of the island, 
the navigator avoids all the journey in and out of the Straits 
of Juan de Fuca and Admiralty Inlet, which occupies ordi- 
narily a week : so that a vessel bound to Alberni, making 
Cape Flattery at the same time with one bound for Puget 
Sound, would be half-loaded by the time the other reached 
its destination. Again, when loaded, the tug takes him to 
the entrance of Barclay Sound, where he can wait for a fair 
wind, while the other, in consequence of the more prevalent 
winds blowing into the Strait, has to beat for two or three 
days to get outside. In winter this is by no means a 
desirable spot to beat about in, for the squalls from the 
Olympian Mountains are sudden and heavy, and fogs come 
on very rapidly. Another consideration, which carries much 
weight with the skipper, is that there are no opportunities 
for men to desert at Alberni. Of course, when the trade 
becomes greater and the country more opened up, this advan- 
tage will cease to exist, but for some time to come men will 
be very safe there. 

There are no port charges whatever at Alberni, and it is 
a port of entry, so that vessels can clear from the mills ; 
whereas in Puget Sound they cannot, and have to call at 
Port Townshend or some other port to get their clearance. 
The scarcity of white pine in the American territory will 
probably enable the Alberni mills to compete with their 
Puget Sound rivals successfully even in the San Fran- 
cisco market, and they are admirably placed for the supply 



230 BOAT-SURVEYING PARTIES. Chap. X. 

of America, China, and Australia, with the latter of which 
countries a remunerative trade has already been opened. 
Several foreign Governments have entered into contracts for 
these spars, and our own has ordered two cargoes of top- 
masts to be supplied. I will now, however, quit this subject, 
having to speak more particularly of the qualities of the 
different woods growing on this coast, when treating of the 
resources of the island. 

On the 29th I started by land for JSTanaimo — a description 
of which journey has been already given — returning on the 
12th of May. I found that the 'Hecate' had gone to 
Ouchucklesit, and proceeded thither in a canoe the same 
afternoon, overtaking the ship at 7 p.m. The boat-surveying 
parties were busily engaged by this time at the entrance of 
the Sound, and the ship had moved down to Ouchucklesit on 
the 9th to be nearer them. The boat parties had returned 
to the ship once during my absence. Upon their next visit 
on the 27th, I joined them for a week. From this time until 
the 9th of June we were all hard at work about the various 
inlets and islands of Barclay Sound. On the 3rd the ship 
moved down to Island Harbour in the entrance, and on the 
9th we went out to sound off the Straits of Fuca, leaving 
two boats behind to finish Uclulet. 

We spent a week running lines of soundings backwards 
and forwards over an area of 400 square miles, to determine 
the limits of the bank which runs off from the island shore 
for upwards of 20 miles ; and a most unpleasant week it was, 
and very glad we were when it was over. These soundings 
proved, however, of great use, as we found the edge of the 
bank to be so steep that a ship may always find her approxi- 
mate position by the soundings as she approaches the shore — 
the depth changing quite suddenly from 200 fathoms or there- 
abouts to 40 or 50. Our task being completed by the 14th, 
we went right up to the head of the Alberni again for sights, 



Chap. X. EFFECT OF THE SIGNAL-GUN. 231 

and commenced painting the ship. On Monday, the 24th, 
this necessary although unpleasant job was finished, and we 
started for Esquimalt, having in tow a main topmast for 
the ' Bacchante,' which Mr. Stamp sent as a present and 
specimen to the Admiral. We generally went about these 
channels with a good string of things of some kind to wing- 
after us, usually boats which were to be dropped at different 
places on our road ; and this time was no exception to the 
rule, for we passed down the canal towing the topmast, with 
the * Shark,' and one of the whale-boats, which we cast off at 
the entrance, they being bound for Clayoquot to prepare, by 
sounding the entrance, for our arrival there as soon as we 
returned from Esquimalt. 

One of the whale-boats, under the charge of Mr. Browning, 
had been away since we started on our sounding cruise, and 
we now went to pick her up off Port San Juan. We usually 
took these opportunities for exercising at gun-drill, as when 
we were on surveying ground we had other fish to fry; so 
that on this occasion the pivot-gun was ready loaded when 
we opened San Juan Harbour, and saw Browning's tent com- 
fortably pitched on the shore. There is a certain amount 
of pleasure, I suppose, in disturbing an unsuspecting fellow- 
mortal ; and although we all knew, from frequent experience, 
the annoyance of seeing the ship gliding round some point, 
and hearing the boom of a signal-gun when it seemed rea- 
sonably certain that a quiet, undisturbed night might be 
enjoyed, it was not with much commiseration for our ship- 
mate that we watched, through our glasses, the figures rush- 
ing out as the boom of the pivot-gun reached them, and 
the tent's sudden disappearance. Browning, who, with the 
rest of us, was pretty used by this time to decisive action in 
packing and shifting his quarters, lost no time ; and in 20 
minutes after our signal, his boat was cleared and hoisted up, 
and we were flying down the Strait with all sail set to a 
fair wind. 



232 DEFECTIVE MAIL ARRANGEMENTS. Chap. X. 

On the 26th the mail steamer arrived, but with no mail — 
Mr. Booker, our consul at San Francisco, sending instead 
the pleasant news that the Americans had refused to carry 
the colonial mails without payment any longer. We did not 
think that the Company were in the least to blame, but it 
was hard upon us, who had had nothing to do one way or the 
other with the postal arrangements. The American Company 
had been allowed to bring and take our mails for years 
without any offer of remuneration being made, and had the 
colonists alone suffered, none of us would have felt disposed to 
pity them. Without any reference to politics, we could not 
help wishing sincerely at the time that the Derby ministry 
had remained in office, as it was understood that it was 
their intention to grant a mail subsidy for the colony. The 
Company that owns the saw-mills at Alberni had made pro- 
posals for carrying the mails, and their agent told me 
that a subsidy of 20,000?. for conveying them between San 
Francisco and the colony had been promised them, and that 
nothing but the formal confirmation of the contract was 
wanting when the Government went out. 

The agent also represented to me that the refusal of the 
incoming authorities to ratify the contract arose from the 
fact that so few letters left England addressed to British 
Columbia. The reason of this was, he said, that all men 
of business at home gave instructions that their letters 
should be directed under cover to their agents at San 
Francisco, on account of the uncertainty of the conveyance 
of the ordinary mails beyond that place. Correspondence, 
indeed, with the colony was at this time most uncertain — 
the majority of letters intended for settlers there being 
directed, "Post Office, Steilacoom, Washington territory." 
This mode of direction used often to puzzle the post officials 
and amuse us. It was printed upon all the official envelopes, 
but the cause of its origin and continuance was a mystery 
which no one could explain. 



Chap. X. THE BOUNDARY MARKS. 233 

Steilacoom never was the post-office of Washington territory 
while we were there ; and even if it had been, why letters 
should be directed to that place, which is 60 miles up 
Admiralty Inlet, when there was a post-office at Port Towns- 
hend, in its entrance, was most unaccountable. To make 
the matter still worse, some people took to having "Oregon" 
printed or written also in a conspicuous place on the envelope 
— no doubt wholly unaware of the fact that Oregon and 
Washington are two distinct territories, each somewhat larger 
than France. 

On the 2nd of July, at 9 p.m., we again left Esquimalt, 
having on board five-and-twenty of the pillars which had 
been sent out from England to mark the 49th parallel 
boundary-line. We took them to Semiahmoo Bay, and 
landed them on the parallel ; and, it being low-water when 
we arrived, they had to be carried about a mile across the 
sand. Twenty-two only were landed at the boundary, and 
the other three taken to Port Roberts, where we left them 
the same afternoon, and proceeded to Nanaimo. These perio- 
dical visits to the boundary-line gave us some idea of the 
rapid growth of the bush in this country, and showed us how 
completely futile the mere cutting down of trees to mark 
a boundary in such a country is. We knew the position of 
the boundary-line, but could not find the stump which had 
been driven in to mark the spot ; and when I tried to pene- 
trate along the line which could be distinguished from 
above easily enough by the gap in the larger trees which, of 
course, had not yet grown again, I found the undergrowth 
so thick as to be what people unused to that country would 
consider quite impenetrable. Upon another occasion we wit- 
nessed a still more speedy obliteration of such a trail by 
the undergrowth of timber. When we were at Port Roberts 
about a year after the trail had been cut, it was necessary 
for some purpose to pass through it. But, although we 



234 SURVEY CONTINUED. Chap. X. 

hunted for an hour or more among the bush, no entrance to 
the trail could be found. 

We remained at Nanaimo coasting until the 12th ; the 
' Grappler ' taking the rest of the beacons to Smess Kiver, 
and there depositing them. I should have said that these 
beacons or pillars were constructed of cast-iron, pyramid- 
shaped, and having the words "American Boundary" on one 
side, and " Treaty, 1844," on the other. They were hollow, 
and fitted to screw or bolt on to a stone or block of wood, the 
weight of each being about 100 lbs. 

On the 13th we left Nanaimo, reaching Cormorant Bay at 
nine that night ; and next day we went on to Fort Kupert 
(Beaver Harbour). 

We occupied our time at Kupert till the 17th, getting 
sights, &c, and cutting and dragging out of the bush five 
trees of the yellow cypress for repairing our boats, &c, for 
which and similar purposes, as I have before said, this wood 
is the best I have ever seen. On the 17th we went on to 
Shucartie Bay, and spent the 18th there, while the cutter and 
one whaler sounded on the Newittee Bar. We tried the seine 
(net) in Shucartie Bay, but only caught about thirty salmon. 

On the 19th we steamed through the Groletas Channel 
towards the north end of the island, but the fog came on so 
thick that we anchored on the edge of the JNewittee Bar. We 
must have been nearer the edge indeed than we thought, 
for we soon found ourselves drifting off it, and the ship 
cruising about with 50 fathoms of chain hanging from her 
bows. Fortunately, it cleared about this time, so we hove the 
anchor up and proceeded out. At noon we reached Cape 
Scott, and then went out to look at the Triangle Islands, 
which lie off it, and at dark shaped our course for Woody 
Point, or Cape Cook, halfway between the north end of the 
island and Nootka Sound. We passed this spot next morning 
at daybreak, and by three in the afternoon were off Nootka. 




HEAD OF TSOIHS ARM, KOOTKA SOUND. 



Page 234. 



Chap. X. SURVEY CONTINUED. 235 

We were bound, however, for Clayoquot Sound, which lies 
between Nootka and Barclay Sounds ; so on we went, and 
reached the entrance at 8 p.m. It being then too dark to 
enter, we had to do what seamen are proverbially fond of — 
"stand off and on" for the night. At daybreak we found 
ourselves off Port Cox — so named by Meares, and described 
by him in terms which were calculated to lead us to suppose 
that, had we wanted it, safe anchorage might be found there. 
When, however, the spot he had thus described was surveyed, 
it was found that a sand-bar completely blocked up its 
entrance. The whale-boat we had to take up was inside, 
and at six she came on board ; and we went back again to 
the northern entrance of Clayoquot Sound, and in to an 
anchorage which she had found for us, where we moored, 
intending to remain till we had surveyed all the Sound — 
little thinking what, was in store for us, and what mishap 
would befal us before we should again reach Esquimalt. 

We all set to work surveying the various arms of the 
Sound, and the weather continuing fine our task progressed 
satisfactorily. We found sundry arms and passages hitherto 
unknown, and discovered that one previously marked upon 
the charts as Brazo de Topino was inaccurately described — 
its extent proving to be not more than half that laid down 
by former explorers. 

On the 7th of August I returned to the ship, after a ten- 
days' surveying cruise, and walking as usual into the chart- 
room, was told that the Indians had brought a mail across 
from Alberni, and that my letters were in my cabin. I was 
going down for them, when the Captain came on deck with 
a service-letter in his hand, and said, "Here is something 
that concerns you as First Lieutenant of the ship." I in- 
stantly apprehended some question of minor punishments, 
and was preparing to defend my conduct, when he read out : 
" I have to inform you that Lieutenant B. C. Mayne has 
been promoted to the rank of Commander," &c. This intelli- 



236 PKOMOTION. Chap. X. 

gence was so sudden and wholly unexpected, that it was not 
until I had read the document that I fully realised it. Only 
the night before my return to the ship, as I lay by my watch- 
fire smoking and thinking of the future, I had come to the 
conclusion that I should remain with the i Hecate ' until she 
was paid off; and now I knew that this sudden change in 
my prospects would lead, upon our reaching Esquimalt, to 
my being ordered to return to England. As it happened, 
however, my connection with the ' Hecate' did not termi- 
nate so abruptly as I then expected, and I remained with 
her for three months from this date. 

On the 15th August we started for Alberni, to get sights 
again, reaching it the same night. On the 17th we again 
left, intending to pick up Gowland, who was away on sur- 
veying service off Nootka Sound, and then going round the 
north end of the island, to finish some work at Cape Scott, and 
return inside the island to Nanaimo and Esquimalt. The next 
morning at 10 we were off Point Estevan (Nootka Sound), 
and Gowland joined us. A fresh north-wester was then 
blowing, and during the afternoon it increased into a gale. 
This put a stop, of course, to sounding, and as the Captain 
knew that he would not be able to land on the north end of 
the island for some days after a gale, he determined on 
giving up work for the present, and going in by the Strait 
of Fuca. At 8 p.m. we were " fixed " and steering for the 
Strait, and at 10 we ran into a thick fog. This was nothing 
at all unusual, and as we knew our ground, or water — indeed 
I may say both — by heart, we jogged along about seven 
knots, sounding every half-hour. 

About 3 o'clock, as we approached the Strait, the speed 
was eased to five knots, and the course altered a little ; and 
at 4 o'clock we got a cast of 19 fathoms. This puzzled every 
one. We knew the water was much deeper than this on the 
south side of the Strait, and it was agreed by all that we must 
have got rather far on to the north shore. The ship was accord- 



Chap. X. SHIP EUNS ASHOEE. 237 

ingly kept south a mile and a half, and then up the Strait 
again, going four knots an hour, the fog continuing as thick as 
" pea-soup," to use a nautical simile. At 8.30, when I relieved 
the captain who had been all night on deck, he said " Three 
or four hours more and you will be packing up your traps," 
and went down to his breakfast. He had hardly reached his 
cabin, when he heard the orders, " Hard a port! " — " Stop her ! " 
— "Ke verse the engines! "—shouted from the bridge, and 
rushed on deck just in time to find the ship landed on a nest 
of rocks, over which the surf was sullenly breaking in that 
heavy, dead way which it does when it has a long drift of 
ocean open to it but no wind to lash it into foam. I had 
jumped on to the bridge, and seeing her head fly round in 
answer to the helm, thought we were going clear, but no 
such luck was in store for us, and up she went. Nothing 
but rocks were to be seen all around us, and we were all 
equally puzzled to know where we were, how we got there, 
and how we should get the ship off. That we were close to 
the shore we soon found, for high up over our foretopmast- 
head, as it appeared from aft, the summit of a cliff, with a 
few pine-trees upon it, showed itself. Fortunately for us, the 
noise of the steam escaping was heard by the master of a 
small schooner, which we afterwards found was lying close to 
us, and we soon saw two white men, in their usual costume of 
red flannel and long boots, paddling to us in a small canoe. 
Getting them on board we discovered that w r e were two miles 
inside Cape Flattery, that the cliff we saw was a small island 
close to the main, and that about 50 yards from us lay tw r o 
small schooners in a little basin formed by the rocks. While 
tins information was being gathered, both paddlebox boats 
had been got out, the small boats lowered, and the waist 
anchor placed in the paddler and laid out astern. During the 
time that this was being done, the ship swung broadside to 
the rocks and began to bump fearfully, — the masts springing 
like whips, — and wo began to think it was all up with the 



238 THE ' HECATE ' ON THE EOCKS. Chap. X. 

poor ' Hecate.' Presently as the tide, which was rising, came 
in and then receded, she gave two tremendous crashes, 
sending us all flying about in different directions. At the 
second crash the chief engineer ran up from below with the 
report that the cross-sleepers had started and the bottom of 
the bunker fallen in, and that another such bump would send 
the engines through her bottom. This was cheerful intelli- 
gence, and everything was got ready for a sudden departure 
in the boats. Our friends in the schooner had previously 
informed us that if she held together till the tide rose a few 
inches, she could get in between the rocks to where his vessel 
lay. The stern cable had been hauled on for this purpose, 
but with no effect, when suddenly she slipped a little off the 
rock and then forged ahead. Instantly the stern cable was 
let go, and she glided quietly in between the rocks and along- 
side the schooner. No mortal could have put her there on 
the calmest, smoothest day, but there she was, and right 
thankful for our most merciful escape were we, who a few 
minutes before, could see no possible chance of saving her. 
We let go an anchor to hold her until the sleepers of the 
engines could be cut away to enable them to move, and, 
sounding the well, found she was making water at the rate 
of six inches an hour. This was quite an agreeable surprise, 
for, from the hammering she had received, we thought the 
bottom must have been half-knocked out. Finding the 
engines would soon be in working condition, it was deter- 
mined to push on for Esquimalt. It was quite neces- 
sary that we should go somewhere without delay, for had 
a breeze sprung up we should have been as badly off 
where we now were as on the rocks. Here again the master 
of the Yankee schooner, was of service. The passage by 
which we must pass out was very little more than the 
ship's breadth across, and lay between two sunken rocks. 
He took two of our whale-boats, anchoring them over the 
rocks between which our channel lay, and then, assisted by 



Chap. X. NARROW ESCAPE. 239 

an Indian, whom tie brought with him, took us out. All this 
time the fog was as thick as ever, but when we got two or 
three miles up the Strait we passed out of the fog-bank as 
suddenly as we had entered it ; all ahead being perfectly clear. 
This fog had, the master of the schooner told us, hung at the 
entrance of the Strait for five days ; and he said it frequently 
occurred that a local fog of the sort kept about there for 
weeks. This man showed all the readiness and nerve of his 
countrymen, and was certainly of great service to us. When 
we were fairly outside, he said, "Now, there is plenty of 
water round the ship, and I'm almighty dry! if you'll give 
me a chart, Captin, and a bottle of rum, I'll think of you 
often." I need hardly say he was abundantly supplied, and 
expressed himself very thankful. The Admiralty afterwards 
sent him a spy-glass for his services, but he, falling, I fancy, 
into some lawyer's hands, sent in an exorbitant claim for 
salvage which has not yet, I believe, been settled. We 
reached Esquimalt that evening without further damage or 
accident, the leakage continuing at the same rate, — and 
anchored the ship in Constance Cove, after as narrow an 
escape from total loss as any ship ever had. We were 
altogether 35 minutes beating on the rocks, and nearly an 
hour from the time of striking till we were quite clear 
again ; our fate depending upon whether the tide would rise, 
as it did, sufficiently to float her before she gave another 
bump, which would in all probability have finished her. I 
should perhaps have said, the ship's fate, — for calm as it was, 
and close to shore, we should probably have got all the men 
to land ; although an operation of this sort, which appears 
quite easy as long as you have a few planks to stand on, 
becomes rather difficult with a ship breaking up under you. 

Next morning, Tuesday, 21st August, an examination was 
commenced by the diver and flag-ship's carpenter. The 
former after two days' examination reported about 25 sheets 
of copper off under the starboard wheel, and three heavy 



240 REPORT OF DAMAGE. Chap. X. 

crushes in the ship's side ; several sheets of copper off under 
the port quarter, 16 under the port wheel, and another heavy 
crush there ; part of the fore-foot and false keel forward gone, 
with several other sheets of copper off in various places. 
Inside the carpenter reported 14 floors damaged more or less, 
four binding- streaks requiring shifting, one butt of binding- 
streak on port side leaking badly, with the first futtocks 
probably started. Upon this state of affairs being made 
known, it was decided by the Admiral that we must go to 
San Francisco to be docked, and that before we started 
the diver should patch up as well as he could, by stuffing 
tarred and greased oakum into the holes, nailing over that 
the tarred blanket or felt supplied for that purpose, and 
sheet lead above it. This took him six days, and most 
capitally he did his work : I never saw a man work so 
long at a time as he did, sometimes remaining down more 
than an hour without resting. I may here mention, for the 
information of nautical readers, that we found tarred blanket 
answer much better than the felt supplied by the service 
for such a purpose. The felt was too thick to suck into the 
cracks ; and when it became saturated it swelled so much 
the diver could not work it, and being pressed together, 
and having no weft or thread through it, the action of 
the water separated it and wore it away while he was pre- 
paring the lead to cover it. Having a great deal of lead to 
put on, we found it much more convenient also to make nails 
for the purpose, longer than copper (2£ inch) and with flat 
heads, one inch in diameter. Where the wood was much 
bruised the service nails proved too short, and the heads so 
small that the diver could not see to hit them, and was con- 
stantly dropping them and hitting his fingers. 

On Thursday (29th) the damages were so well stopped that 
we were only leaking one inch an hour ; and we took in our 
coal and got ready for sea. A survey was then ordered to be 
held, to report whether or not it was safe for us to go to 



Chap. X. START FOR SAN FRANCISCO. 241 

San Francisco alone. It was decided that we ought to be 
attended by another ship ; for although while in harbour we 
appeared right enough, no one could say what the ' Hecate ' 
could or could not bear if she got into a gale of wind. 
Accordingly the Admiral ordered the ' Mutine ' to accompany 
us as far as Captain Kichards thought necessary. 

Upon our arrival at Esquimalt, I went on board the flag- 
ship for my commission, expecting at the same time to be told 
to return home. To my surprise, however, I was informed 
that no orders to supersede me had been received ; and that I 
must remain till my relief came. This did not disappoint me 
so much as it would have done had nothing happened to the 
ship, for I did not like to leave her in her present dilapi- 
dated condition, and I had determined to go to San Francisco 
in her even if I were ordered home. 

I will pause ere I take the reader with me on this cruise, 
which for me, terminated in Southampton Docks, to ^>ive a 
slight summary of the resources and capabilities of the 
country, and of the habits and customs of the natives. 



242 ABORIGINES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. Chap. XL 



CHAPTEE XL 



Indians — The Coast Tribes — Classification — Manners and Customs — Notes 
from Mr. Duncan's Journal — Inland- Tribes — Number — Information 
concerning them. 

The aboriginal inhabitants of the two colonies of British 
Columbia and Yanconver Island, of which I now propose to 
speak, may be divided into two classes, viz. the Coast, or, as 
they are generaly called, the Fish-eating Indians, and the 
Inland tribes. By Fish-eating Indians must be understood 
those who depend almost entirely upon fish for subsistence ; 
for the Inland, as well as the Coast, tribes, live to a great 
extent upon salmon. 

The Indians of the interior are, both physically and 
morally, vastly superior to the tribes of the coast. This is 
no doubt owing in great part to their comparatively slight 
intercourse with white men, as the northern and least known 
coast tribes of both the island and mainland are much finer 
men than those found in the neighbourhood of the settle- 
ments. But it is also attributable in no slight degree to the 
difference of their lives, the athletic pursuits and sports of the 
Indians of the interior tending much more to healthy phy- 
sical development than the life of the Coast Indian, passed, 
as it is, almost entirely in his canoe, in which he sits curled 
up like a Turk. The upper limbs of a Coast Indian are 
generally so well proportioned and developed, that when 
sitting in his canoe he might be thought a well-grown 
man, but upon his stepping out it is seen that his legs 
are smaller than his arms. Miserable as these limbs are 
in size, in shape they are still more deformed, the lower 




•" -'SO- 
INDIAN WOMAN AND CHILD, THE LATTER WITH HEAD BOLND LP. 



Chap. XI. THE COAST TRIBES. 243 

bones becoming bent to the shape of the side of the 
canoe, and the feet very much turned in. With the women 
this is worse than with the men, and when they try to walk 
they waddle like a parrot, crossing their feet at every step. 
Again, the trade in slaves, which is carried on to a great 
extent among all the Coast tribes, and tends undoubtedly to 
demoralize them, is not practised in the interior. Of course 
the prisoners which they make in their many fierce wars 
with one another are enslaved, but the practice is not made a 
trade of by them as by the tribes along the shore. 

To begin, then, with the Coast or Fish-eating Indians. 
Mr. Duncan, the missionary teacher at Fort Simpson, of whose 
labours there I shall have occasion to speak, and upon the 
accuracy of whose information every reliance may be placed, 
estimates the Indians of the east side of Vancouver Island, 
of Queen Charlotte Sound, and of the coast of British Colum- 
bia, at about 40,000 in number. Among them four distinct 
languages are found to exist, each spoken by some 10,000 
souls. One of these is shared by the Songhies, a tribe col- 
lected at and around Victoria; the Cowitchen, living in the 
harbour and valley of Cowitchen, about 40 miles north of 
Victoria ; the Nanaimo and the Kwantlum Indians, gathered 
about the mouth of the Fraser. 

In the second division are comprised the tribes situated 
between Nanaimo and Fort Eupert, on the north of Van- 
couver Island, and the mainland Indians between the same 
points. These are divided into several tribes, the Nanoose, 
Comoux, Nimpkish, Quaw-guult, &c, on the island ; and the 
Squawmisht, Seelielt, v Clahoose," Ucle-tah, Mama-lil-a-culla, 
&c, on the coast and among the small islands off it. 

Of these the Nanoose tribe inhabit the harbour and district 
of that name, which lies 50 miles north of Nanaimo ; the 
Comoux Indians being found to extend as far as Cape Mudge. 
The Squawmisht, Sechelts, and Clahoose live in Howe Sound, 

r2 



244 VARIETIES OF DIALECTS. Chap. XI. 

Jervis Inlet, and Desolation Sound respectively. At and 
beyond Cape Mudge are found the Ucle-tahs, who hold pos- 
session of the country on both sides of Johnstone Strait until 
met 20 or 30 miles south of Fort Kupert by the Nimpkish 
and Mama-lil-a-cullas. The Quaw-guults, and two smaller 
tribes, live at Fort Kupert itself. Five of the first-named tribes 
muster at Nanaimo for trade, and, being all more or less at 
enmity with each other, frequent encounters between them 
take place there. The others assemble at Eupert, at which 
post there are generally as many as 2000 or 3000 Indians to 
be found. 

Of all these Indians the Soughies at Victoria are the most 
debased and demoralised. The Cowitchens are rather a fine 
and somewhat powerful tribe, numbering between 3000 and 
4000 souls. The Nanaimo Indians, who at one time were 
just as favourably spoken of, have fallen off much since .the 
white settlement at that place has increased. 

I have said the distinct languages spoken by the Indians 
are few in number, but the dialects employed by the various 
tribes are so many, that, although the inhabitants of any 
particular district have no great difficulty in communicating 
with each other, a white man, to make himself understood 
by the various tribes, would have to learn the dialects 
employed by all. And when it is considered that hardly 
any attempt has been made to investigate and define the 
principles which regulate their use of words, and that the 
common roots of the words themselves, if they possess such, 
are at present quite out of the student's reach, the diffi- 
culties of such a task may easily be conceived. The 
southern tribes, as a rule, understand the Chinook jargon, 
in which almost all the intercourse between Indians and 
whites is at present carried on. A few men may be found 
in almost all of the northern, and many of the inland 
tribes, who understand it, but its use is most common in 



Chai\ XI. FEROCITY OF THE UCLE-TAHS. 245 

the south. This Chinook is a strange jargon of French, Eng- 
lish, and Indian words, of which several vocabularies have 
been published. It was introduced by the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany for the purposes of trading, and its French element is 
due to the number of French Canadians in their employ. 

The Comoux Indians possess a very fine tract of country 
inside a point called Cape Lazo, of which I shall speak here- 
after. They are a large tribe, and have the reputation of being 
rather savage, though we always found them very peaceably 
disposed. They know quite well, however, the value of the 
(J000 or 8000 acres of clear land which they possess, and 
when I went over it w T ith them, took great care to explain 
that the neighbouring Indians resorted there in the summer 
for berries, &c, and that a great many blankets would be 
required as purchase-money whenever we wanted it, an event 
which they evidently contemplated. 

Next to them, as I have said, come the Ucle-tahs. The 
most important village of this tribe is situated at Cape 
Mudge, but they are spread all over Discovery Passage and 
the south part of Johnstone Strait. As I have before said, 
they may be regarded as the Ishmaelites of the coast, their 
hand being literally against every one's, and every one's 
-against them. The Indians who come from the northward 
to Victoria in the summer, are particularly guarded when 
passing through their neighbourhood. Several battles have 
taken place at different times at or near Cape Mudge. 
Upon one occasion they murdered nearly all the crew 
of a Hudson Bay vessel which stopped there for water, 
one half-breed boy only, I believe, escaping. They are bold 
as well as blood-thirsty, and by no means disposed to yield, 
as Indians generally do, to the mere exhibition of force. 
In the year before last some of their canoes robbed two 
Chinamen's boats off Saltspring Island, and on the ' Forward' 
being sent after them, the villagers at Cape Mudge, which 



246 TREACHERY OF THE COWITCHENS. Chap. XL 

is regularly stockaded, defied the gunboat and fired upon 
her. The ' Forward ' had to fire shot and shell among 
then), and to smash all their canoes, before they gave in and 
surrendered the stolen goods. Had it not been for the rifle- 
plates with which the crew were protected, a good many 
might have been hit. as the Indians kept up a steady 
fire upon them for a considerable time. I must not be 
understood to say that these Ucle-tahs are the only tribe of 
Indians who have proved troublesome upon the coast, but 
they are alone as yet in standing out after the appearance of 
a man-of-war before their village. They also have a reputa- 
tion, which may not, however, be quite deserved, of being 
more treacherous than the Indians of other tribes. Many 
stories are current of the cold-blooded treachery of all these 
tribes one to the other, and sometimes to the white men who 
have fallen into their hands. In 1858, for instance, some 
members of the Cowitchen tribe made a most brutal and 
treacherous attack on a body of unoffending northern Indians, 
which I will detail, as it illustrates, not unfavourably, the 
hardihood and endurance of the red man amid the perils 
incidental to his life. 

Information had been sent to the Governor of a canoe full 
of people having been massacred in Ganges Harbour, and 
H.M.S. ' Satellite' was sent to inquire into it. Upon her arrival 
at Cowitchen it was ascertained that a northern canoe with a 
dozen Indians in it was passing down the inner passage to 
Victoria, when a white man, one of the settlers on the north 
end of Saltspring Island, asked them to take him to Victoria, 
calling at the settlement in Ganges Harbour on the way. 
They were willing to take him to Victoria, but objected to 
going to Ganges Harbour on account of the Cowitchens. The 
settler, however, overruled their objections, and they finally 
assented to his wish. When they reached the spot where 
their passenger wanted to land, they found about twenty 



Chap. XL A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. 247 

Cowitchens camping there. These fellows came down to the 
canoe, and made such cordial professions of friendship to the 
poor northerners, that they were tempted to land. While 
the white man was present their manner continued to be 
most friendly ; but unluckily the settler's house, to which he 
wanted to go, stood some quarter of a mile back from the 
shore. The moment he was out of sight the Cowitchens 
leaped up and fired on the others. Those who remained in the 
canoe shoved off, but were pursued and captured all but one, 
a chief of some rank among them. Six of the prisoners were 
slaughtered with the most barbarous, wanton cruelty ; Captain 
Prevost of the * Satellite ' reporting that there were the marks 
of bullets discernible all round their hearts, and that their 
heads were fearfully battered in. Three women and a child 
were spared and kept as prisoners, all but one of whom were 
eventually rescued from them. 

The Indian who escaped from the canoe swam to a small 
island at the entrance of the harbour, and his subsequent 
struggle for life illustrates strongly, as I have before said, the 
skill and endurance of his race when reduced to extremities. 
Although wounded in the neck, arm, and leg, he succeeded 
in floating upon a log from the island on which he had landed 
to Cowitchen Harbour, a distance of 13 miles. Here he was 
picked up by some other Cowitchen Indians, who, according 
to their own account, let him go. At any rate he escaped, 
and wounded and weak as he was, and with no other food 
than what roots and berries he could pick up, made his way 
through the forests and the midst of his enemies to Victoria, 
a distance of 45 miles, through a country entirely unknown 
to him. The pleasant part of the story, however, is that, on 
the ' Satellite's ' return with the women who had been reco- 
vered from the offending tribe, a canoe of northern chiefs, 
among whom was this very man, knowing the errand she had 
been on, put out from Victoria to her. Upon his going on 



248 WHITES MURDERED BY INDIANS. Chap. XI. 

board the first thing he saw was his wife, who had been 
washed and dressed, and was no doubt looking better than 
he had ever seen her. Although of course each thought 
het other had been murdered, there was no violent manifesta- 
tion of joy upon their recognition. Captain Prevost said that 
her face lighted up, and she started a little, but then stood quite 
still, while the man walked up to her without any appearance 
of surprise or undignified haste, kissed her once on the fore- 
head, and turned away, taking no more notice of her whatever 
until he was leaving the ship, when he called her to his canoe. 
Kissing in token of affection is not an Indian habit, and must 
have been taught this man, I take it, by the Roman Catholic 
missionaries. I have been in their villages upon several 
occasions while travelling -parties were leave-taking; and 
although the women, while packing up the store of fish or 
venison for their husbands' journey have cried bitterly, and 
taken leave of them with every evidence of grief and afflic- 
tion, I have never seen them kiss each other. 

Several instances have occurred of whites being murdered 
by Indians in different parts of the colony, but I fear these 
murders have generally been the result of introducing fire- 
water, or taking liberties with the females of the tribe ; for 
although the Indian thinks little of selling female slaves for 
the vilest purposes, he sometimes avenges an insult offered to 
his own wives summarily. Their ideas, however, on this subject 
are by no means clear, for they occasionally take terrible 
vengeance for an insult which at another time they will not 
even notice. Whenever a white man takes up his residence 
among them, they will always supply him with a wife ; and 
if he quits the place and leaves her there, she is not the least 
disgraced in the eyes of her tribe. The result of this is, that 
you frequently see children quite white, and looking in every 
respect like English children, at an Indian village, and a 
very distressing sight it is. 



Ch^p. XL DESCRIPTION OF A PALAVEK. 249 

North of the district occupied by the Ucle-tahs come the 
Nimpkish, Mama-lil-a-cula, Matelpy, and two or three other 
smaller tribes. The Mama-lil-a-culas live on the mainland ; 
the Nimpkish have their largest village at the mouth of the 
Nimpkish river, about 15 miles below Fort Rupert. A picture 
of this place is given in Vancouver's Voyages, and so little has 
it changed in the 70 years since his visit, that we recognised it 
immediately from that sketch. The Quaw-guults and other 
Indians at Fort Eupert possess no peculiar characteristics, but 
fight and drink when they can, after the fashion of Indians 
generally. I have previously described the * Hecate's ' palaver 
with them upon the occasion of their having captured an Indian 
woman of another tribe.* A palaver of this sort is a curious 
sight, and some Indians are very eloquent at them. All those 
present squat on crossed legs in the usual Indian fashion. 
The speaker, alone standing, holds a long white pole, which 
he sticks into the ground with great force every now and then 
by way of emphasis, sometimes leaving it standing for a 
minute or so while he goes on speaking. Then he strides to 
it, catches it up, and perhaps swings it over his head, or again 
sticks it into the ground. The exact meaning or purpose of 
this pole I do not know, but it has some particular office, and 
serves, among other things, to ratify any agreement to which 
they may come upon the subject discussed ; for when they 
agreed finally to give up the slave, the chief stepped forward 
and handed the pole to Captain Richards. 

In the third group Mr. Duncan includes all those Indians 
speaking the Tsimshean language, and to whom he has 
devoted so much care and labour. He divides these into 
four parts : — 

2500 at Fort Simpson, taking the Fort as the centre. 

2500 on the Naas River, 80 or 100 miles to the north- 
east. 

* Page 209 ante. 



250 ESTIMATE OF INDIAN POPULATION. Chap XL 

2500 on the Skeena River, 100 miles south-east. 
2500 in the numerous islands in Millbanke Sound, &c, 
lying south-east of Fort Simpson. 

These northern Indians, as I have before said, are finer 
and fiercer men than the Indians of the south, or the tribes 
of the west coast of Vancouver Island, and are dreaded more 
or less by them. Their foreheads, as a rule, are not so much 
flattened, but their countenances are decidedly plainer. 

It is very difficult to give anything like a correct estimate 
of Indian population anywhere in the island, but upon the 
west or Pacific coast it is still harder, as no attempt whatever 
at ascertaining their number, even approximately, has yet 
been made. I imagine, however, that the island may contain 
from ten to twelve thousand, of whom five thousand live 
along the west coast. When speaking to Mr. Duncan once 
of the difficulty of numbering the Indians, he gave a very 
amusing account of the endeavour made to get a census 
taken at Fort Simpson. After every means had, it was 
supposed, been taken to prevent them from being found 
in two places at once, the operator got what was thought 
to be a fair start ; but nothing could induce the Indians to 
believe that a game of some sort was not intended, so that as 
soon as the head of a house began counting heads, the younger 
members of the family would dodge from one side of the 
hut to the other, that they might be reckoned in again and 
again. 

The Indians of the west coast are divided into 24 tribes. 
Some of these are almost extinct, while others number from 
300 to 400 men. Among all these there are but two distinct 
languages spoken, while the dialects are not so numerous as 
on the other side. 

All the tribes of Barclay, Clayoquot, and JNootka Sounds 
speak a language intelligible to each other. The names and 
approximate numbers of these tribes are as follow : — 



Chap. XI.' ESTIMATE OF INDIAN POPULATION. 251 

In Barclay Sound. 

Pacheenett 50 

Nittinat 400 

\/Ohiat 400 

v. Ouchuchlisit 80 

i Opecluset 40 

V Shcchart 150 

Toquart 40 

Ucle-tah 150 

Tsomass 10 



1320 
Clayotjuot Sound. 

layoquot 350 

• KilsSmi t 100 

Ali6us8t 250 

vManna-wousut 10 

Ishquat 100 

800 
Nootka Sound. 

Match-clats 40 

VMoachet 300 

Xeiichallct 70 

Eliateset 70 

480 
North of Nootka Sound is the largest tribe of the West 
coast — the Kycu-cut — numbering 500 or (J00 men ; and north 
again of these lie the Quatsino and Koskiemo, occupying 
the two Sounds bearing those names. 

East of Cape Scott, which is the north point of Vancouver 
Island, is a small tribe — the Newittees, which meet the 
Quaw-guults at Port Kupert. Mr. Moffatt, who was for years 
in charge of Fort Kupert, and had therefore the best oppor- 
tunities of judging, estimates the number of Indians between 
Nootka and Newittee at 1500 men. This would make 
the number of the Koskiemos, Quatsinos, and Newittees 
about 500. 

Between Victoria and Barclay Sound are the Soke Indians, 
who are few in number; while the Pacheenetts, which I 
have included in Barclay Sound, also inhabit Port San Juan. 



252 FOOD OF THE INDIANS. Chap. XL 

All these are fish-eating Indians, though they get at times 
a great deal of venison as well. The fish taken by them are 
salmon, halibut, cod, rock-cod, a large pink fish, in shape 
something like a rock-cod, herrings, smelt, hon-li-kun and 
clams. All these are eaten fresh, and are also dried. But 
although these are the fish best known to us and most com- 
monly bought by us from them, the Indians feed upon the 
whale, porpoise or sea-hog, seal, sea-lion, sea-cow or fur-seal ; 
sardine, cuttle-fish, squad, &c. ; sea-cucumber or trepang ; 
crabs, muscles, cockles and clams. 

For animal food they have fallow, rein, and elk deer ; 
mountain-goat, mountain-sheep (in British Columbia only) ; 
beaver, bear, lynx or wild cat, badger, sea-otter. 

They also eat esculent roots, sap of trees, and various oils 
from the whale, seal, porpoise, and hou-li-kun ; deers'-tallow, 
goats'-tallow, and bears'-grease. 

The following land and sea fowl are also taken by them 
in large quantities : — Cranes, swans, grey or Canada goose, 
white or snow goose, langley, stock-duck (like our wild duck), 
widgeon, teal, black duck, surf-duck, velvet duck;* par- 
tridges, plover, sand-larks, snipe, sea-parrots, sea-hens, curlew, 
oyster-catchers, dovekils, gulls. The eggs of almost all these 
birds, and the spawn of fish, especially salmon and herring, 
are also much eaten. The latter is collected in large quan- 
tities and spread in the sun to dry. I never saw it used 
fresh. 

Potatoes are now grown at almost all the villages in large 
quantities. 

The Indians have a favourite dish at their feasts, which 
appears to answer to the carva of the South Sea Islands. 
They bring canoe-loads of snow and ice, and with these 
ingredients are mixed oil, and molasses if they have it: 
the slaves and old women being employed to beat it up, 

* There are also several other kinds of ducks. Sir J. Kichardson, I believe, 
collected twenty species. 



Chap. XI. FOOD OF THE INDIANS. 253 

which they do in large bowls, until it assumes the appearance 
of whipped cream, when all attack the mess with their long 
wooden spoons. Neither animals nor fish are eaten raw, except 
at certain ceremonials and festivities, which I shall presently 
describe. Venison, or indeed meat of any kind, is seldom dried 
or preserved on the coast, the quantity obtained being so small 
and the Indians eating so much flesh when they can get it, that 
it is devoured at once or sold at an adjoining settlement. Of 
their eating meat in large quantities, I speak from personal 
experience when travelling with them. When a deer or elk is 
killed they divide the meat pretty fairly, and, the first time 
they halt, cook it all in lumps three or four inches square ; 
they then spit all the pieces on a stick and secure it on their 
backs, leaving one end within reach over the shoulder. As 
they walk along they every now and then pull a piece off the 
end of the stick and eat it, and in a few hours the whole is 
gone. In the season when bears are fat (midsummer) the 
Indian prefers their meat to venison. 

They rely mainly upon fish for winter use. They cure 
it in large quantities, drying it in the sun and hanging it up 
in their lodges. A shell-fish, called Clam, forms a principal 
article of consumption: it is like a large cockle, being 
frequently the size of one's hand, and with a smooth shell. 
They are found on almost all the muddy beaches, a few inches 
below the surface at low water ; their whereabouts being 
always denoted by a small hole, which they leave open as 
they imbed themselves in the mud when the water goes out. 
Through this hole they keep perpetually spouting a small jet 
of water, making it most unpleasant work to walk over them. 
The task of collecting and drying them, as indeed of preparing 
all food, devolves principally on the old women and slaves ; 
and parties of twenty or thirty of them may be seen going 
about from beach to beach on this errand, under the charge of 
two or three men. They carry baskets and dig them up with 
their hands or a stick — the beach, dotted thickly with women 



254 MODE OF CUEING FISH. Chap. XI. 

in red, green, or dirty-white blankets, presenting a somewhat 
picturesque appearance. When a large quantity of these 
clams has been collected, they make a pit, eight or ten feet 
deep ; a quantity of firewood is put in the bottom, and it 
is then filled up with clams ; over the top is laid more fire- 
wood, and the whole is covered in with fir-branches. In this 
way they are boiled for a day or more, according to circum- 
stances. When cooked, they are taken out of the shells, 
spitted on sticks, three or four feet long, and exposed to the 
sun to dry, after wdiich they are strung on strips of the inner 
cypress-bark or pliable reeds, and put away for the winter 
store. When the Indians return to their winter villages 
they are strung along the beams, forming a sort of inner 
roof. Some Europeans profess to like them ; but I confess 
I could never get over their smell, to say nothing of their 
taste. 

The oil obtained from the hou-li-kun is a common article 
of food among the northern tribes, and one of which they are 
very fond. This fish is not unlike a sprat, but somewhat 
longer and rounder, and is so oily that when dried it will burn 
like a candle. They are not found at the south part of the 
island, but are caught in great numbers to the northward. 
The process of extracting the oil from them is very primitive 
indeed. Mr. Duncan gives in one of his letters the following 
description of it, as witnessed by him at Nass Kiver : — 

" In a general way," he says, " I found each house had a 
pit near it, about three feet deep and six or eight inches 
square, filled with the little fish. I found some Indians making 
boxes to put the grease in, others cutting firewood, and others 
(women and children) stringing the fish and hanging them up 
to dry in the sun ; while others, and they the greater number, 
were making fish-grease. The process is as follows: make 
a large fire, plant four or five heaps of stones as big as your 
hand in it ; while these are heating fill a few baskets with 
rather stale fish, and get a tub of water into the house. When 



Chap. XL EXTRACTING OIL FEOM FISH. • 255 

the stones are red-hot bring a deep box, about 18 inches 
square (the sides of which are all one piece of wood), near the 
fire, and put about half a gallon of the fish into it and as 
much fresh water, then three or four hot stones, using wooden 
tongs. Repeat the doses again, then stir the whole up. 
Repeat them again, stir again ; take out the cold stones and 
place them in the fire. Proceed in this way until the box is 
nearly full, then let the whole cool, and commence skimming 
off the grease. While this is cooking, prepare another boxful 
in the same way. In doing the third, use, instead of fresh 
water, the liquid from the first box. On coming to the refuse 
of the boiled fish in the box, which is still pretty warm, let it 
be put into a rough willow-basket ; then let an old woman, 
for the purpose of squeezing the liquid from it, lay it on a 
wooden grate sufficiently elevated to let a wooden box stand 
under ; then let her lay her naked chest on it and press it 
with all her weight. On no account must a male undertake 
to do this. Cast what remains in the basket anywhere near 
the house, but take the liquid just saved and use it over again, 
instead of fresh water. The refuse must be allowed to accu- 
mulate, and though it will soon become putrid and change 
into a heap of creeping maggots and give out a smell almost 
unbearable, it must not be removed. The filth contracted by 
those engaged in the work must not be washed off until all is 
over, that is, until all the fish are boiled, and this will take 
about two or three weeks. All these plans must be carried 
out without any addition or change, otherwise the fish will be 
ashamed, and perhaps never come again. So," concludes Mr 
Duncan, " think and act the poor Indians." * 

The sea-cucumber, so well known in the South Seas as the 
Trepang or Beche de Mer (Holothuria tubulosa) is much 
eaten by the natives. Captain Flinders, in his ' Voyage to 
Terra Australis,' says it is boiled and dried, and traded, when 

* Letter to the Church Missionary Society. 



250 . LICHEN, BERRIES, ETC., AS FOOD. Chap. XT. 

thus prepared, with the Chinese. I have never seen the Eed 
Indians dry it, nor have I ever seen it thus prepared in their 
huts ; but I have constantly seen it boiled and eaten fresh. I 
once tasted some that was just cooked, and found it had 
much the same consistency as India rubber, but without its 
flavour. The Indians make some kind of cake of the berries 
when they are plentiful. 

The lichen (L. jubatus) which grows on the pines, is also 
prepared for food. Twigs, bark, &c, being cleared from it, 
it is steeped in water till it is quite soft ; it is then wrapped 
up in grass and leaves to prevent its being burnt, and cooked 
between hot stones. It takes 10 or 12 hours cooking, and 
when done, while still hot, it is pressed into cakes. Berries 
when fresh are eaten in a way we should hardly appreciate 
— viz., with seal-oil ! I have seen the Indians land from a 
canoe and pick a large quantity of beautiful fresh berries, 
then take a small bowl and pour into it a lot of seal-oil, and, 
sitting round it, dip each bunch of berries into the oil, and 
eat them with great apparent relish. They prefer houlikun- 
oil for this purpose when they can get it. 

They have various berries, among them the strawberry 
and raspberry. They are always very glad to get bread 
or rice, and these articles of diet are generally exchanged 
with them for fish. I found when travelling that neither the 
Coast nor the Inland Indians would ever eat pork. The 
invariable reply to my questions why they did not do so, 
being " Wake cumtax Sivash muckermuck cushom " (Indians 
do not understand how to eat pork). 

Many of the ducks eaten commonly by the Indian would 
be found most unpalatable by white men ; indeed of the 24 
species existing in this part of the world there is only one, 
the stock-duck, that can be relied on as being always free 
from a fishy taste. 

None of these tribes are cannibals. An isolated instance 



Chap. XI. CANNIBALISM NOT PREVALENT. 257 

of a man who eats human flesh may be found ; but he is 
generally looked upon with horror and dread by the rest of 
his people. Still cannibalism is not altogether unknown 
among them ; and instances may be adduced of wretches, 
who have actually exhumed and eaten human corpses. 

For drink they are very fond of tea, and always delighted 
to get it when travelling, although I have never heard them 
ask for it in barter. I remember, on leaving a village in 
Jervis Inlet where my party had been sleeping, that the 
headman came to me and asked for a little tea for his 
mother, who, he said, had a bad pain in the face and was 
very ill. When they can obtain spirits, they will always get 
drunk ; but I think they would rather be without them even 
when they are at work, travelling or otherwise. I have 
never yet been asked for spirits by any of a travelling party, 
but always for tea; and when I had not enough of that to 
give them, they used to fill up my kettle with water, reboil 
it, and drink the miserable decoction with the greatest relish. 
When they cannot get tobacco, the Indians will smoke a 
small leaf like that of the box-shrub. There is another leaf 
which they also use for this purpose: to prepare it they 
pluck a small bough, hold it over the fire for a few minutes, 
then strip the leaves off and rub them in their hands till fine 
enough to smoke. 

I have previously had occasion to refer to the fashion 
among the Indians of carving the faces of animals upon the 
end£ of the large beams which support the roofs of their 
permanent lodges. In addition, it is very usual to find 
representations of the same animals painted over the front of 
the lodge. These crests, which are commonly adopted by 
all the tribes, consist of the whale, porpoise, eagle, raven, 
wolf, and frog, &c. In connexion with them are some curious 
and interesting traits of the domestic and social life of the 
Indians. The relationship between persons of the same crest 
is considered to be nearer than that of the same tribe ; mem- 

s 



258 USE OF FAMILY CRESTS. Chap. XI. 

bers of the same tribe may, and do, marry — but those of the 
same crest are not, I believe, under any circumstances allowed 
to do so. A Whale, therefore, may not marry a Whale, nor a 
Frog a Frog. The child again always takes the crest of the 
mother ; so that if the mother be a Wolf, all her children 
will be Wolves. As a rule also, descent is traced from the 
mother, not from the father. 

At their feasts they never invite any of the same crest as 
themselves : feasts are given generally for the cementing of 
friendship or allaying of strife, and it is supposed that people 
of the same crest cannot quarrel ; but I fear this supposition 
is not always supported by fact. Mr. Duncan, who has 
considerable knowledge of their social habits, says that the 
Indian will never kill the animal which, he has adopted for 
his crest, or which belongs to him as his birthright. If he 
sees another do it he will hide his face in shame, and after- 
wards demand compensation for the act. The offence is not 
killing the animal, buk doing so before one whose crest it is. 
They display these crests in other ways besides those I have 
mentioned, viz., by carving or painting them on their paddles 
or canoes, by the arrangement of the buttons on their blankets, 
or by large figures in front of their houses or their tombs. 
They have another whimsical custom in connexion with these 
insignia : whenever or wherever an Indian chooses to exhibit 
his crest, all individuals bearing the same family-figure are 
bound to do honour to it by casting property before it, in 
quantities proportionate to the rank and wealth of the giver. 
A mischievous or poor Indian, therefore, desiring to profit by 
this social custom, paints his crest upon his forehead, and 
looks out for an opportunity of meeting a wealthy person of 
the same family-crest as himself. Upon his approach he 
advances to meet him, and when near enough displays his 
crest to the unsuspecting victim ; and, however disgusted the 
latter may be, he has no choice but to make the customary 
offering of property of some sort or other. In this, as in 



Chap. XT. " FISH-PKIESTS." 259 

many other respects, the Indians are so strangely superstitious 
as to allow themselves to be imposed upon by their more astute 
and unscrupulous brethren. It is common enough for an 
Indian living by his wits to circulate a report, some weeks 
before the commencement of the fish or berry season, that 
he has had a dream of a large crop of berries, or influx 
of salmon to some particular spot, which he will disclose for 
a certain present. He will then go through various cere- 
monies, such, for instance, as walking about at night in lonely 
places ; taking care that it shall be publicly known that 
he is "working on the hearts of the fish" to be abundant 
during the coming season. His supposed influence over the 
weather and the inclination of the fish are so readily credited, 
that he will in all probability command large prices for his pre- 
tended information and intercession. A canoe's crew will often 
give a third of then- first haul to the " fish-priest " to propitiate 
him, and ensure good luck for the rest of the season. The 
prophet of course takes care to send them to a place where 
fish are generally found in abundance ; and, even should they 
be unsuccessful, it is easy for him to assert that they have 
done something to offend the Spirits. The habits of the fish 
themselves, perhaps, tend to the prevalence of such super- 
stitious fancies; as they will often quit particular places 
altogether for a season, or for several years. Old women, 
also, often obtain much influence from the profession of 
second-sight and the power of foretelling births, deaths, 
marriages, famines, &c. Dreams are generally used as their 
machinery for these purposes. They also claim more than 
the gift of prophecy, and insist that they can prevent people 
they dislike from sharing in the success of the others, and in 
many ways influence their lives. It is not uncommon to see 
these old witches communicating their dreams to the tribe ; 
men and women standing by with open mouths, and impressed 
wonder-stricken faces. I take it these poor old creatures 
often adopt this profession in the hope of lengthening their 

s 2 



2G0 INITIATION OF MEDICINE-MEN. Chap. XI. 

lives ; for the Indians are very cruel to the aged, and when 
they become useless and burdensome to them will often kill 
them outright or leave them on some small desert island to 
starve. Thus the poor old creatures will go on gathering 
clams and berries as long as they can stand, or making them- 
selves useful in some such way, knowing well that their lives 
are not worth much when they cease to work. 

The most influential men in a tribe are the medicine-men. 
Their initiation into the mysteries of their calling is one of 
the most disgusting ceremonies imaginable. At a certain 
season, the Indian who is selected for the office retires into 
the woods for several days, and fasts, holding intercourse, it is 
supposed, with the spirits who are to teach him the healing 
art. He then suddenly reappears in the village, and, in a 
sort of religious frenzy, attacks the first person he meets and 
bites a piece out of his arm or shoulder. He will then rush 
at a dog, and tear him limb from limb, running about with a 
leg or some part of the animal all bleeding in his hand, and 
tearing it with his teeth. This mad fit lasts some time, 
usually during the whole clay of his reappearance. At its 
close he crawls into his tent, or falling down exhausted is 
carried there by those who are watching him. A series of 
ceremonials obervances and long incantations follows, lasting 
for two or three days, and he then assumes the functions and 
privileges of his office. I have seen three or four medicine- 
men made at a time among the Indians near Victoria, 
while twenty or thirty others stood, with loaded muskets, 
keeping guard all round the place to prevent them doing 
any mischief. Although a clever medicine-man becomes of 
great importance in his tribe, his post is no sinecure either 
before or after his initiation. If he should be seen by any 
one while he is communing with the spirits in the woods, 
he is killed or commits suicide; while if he fails in the 
cure of any man he is liable to be put to death, on the 
assumption that he did not wish to cure his patient. This 



Chap. XI. CUEING. THE SICK. 261 

penalty is not always inflicted ; but, if he fails in his first 
attempt, the life of a medicine-man is not, as a rule, worth 
much. The people who are bitten by these maniacs when 
they come in from the woods consider themselves highly 
favoured. 

The ceremony of curing or trying to cure a sick person 
is very curious. I give the following description of such a 
process upon an old woman — a Tyee — in Shoalwater Bay. 

" She had been sick some time of liver-complaint, and 
finding her symptoms grow more exaggerated she sent for a 
medicine-man to ' mamoke ' (work) spells to drive away the 
* memmelose ' or dead people, who, she said, came to her 
every night. 

" Towards night the doctor came, bringing with him his 
own and another family to assist in the ceremony. After 
they had eaten supper, the centre of the lodge was cleaned, 
and fresh sand strewed upon it. A bright fire of dry wood 
was then kindled, and a brilliant light kept up by occasionally 
throwing oil upon it. I considered this to be a species of 
incense offered, as the same light could have been produced, 
if desired, by a quantity of pitch-knots, which were lying in 
the corner. The patient, well wrapped in blankets, was laid 
on her back, with her head a little elevated and her hands 
crossed on her breast. The doctor knelt at her feet, and 
commenced singing a refrain, the subject of which was an 
address to the dead, asking them why they had come to take 
his friend and mother, and begging them to go away and 
leave her. The rest of the people then sang the chorus in a 
low, mournful chant, keeping time by knocking on the roof 
with long wands they held. The burden of the chorus was to 
beg the dead to leave them. As the performance proceeded, 
the doctor got more and more excited, singing loudly and 
violently, with great gesticulation, and occasionally making 
passes with his hand over the face and person of the patient, 



262 NATURE OF THE CEREMONY. Chap. XI. 

similar to those made by mesmeric manipulators ; a constant 
accompaniment being kept up by the others with their low 
chant and beating with their sticks. The patient soon fell 
asleep, and the performance ceased. She slept a short time, 
and woke refreshed. This was repeated several times during 
the night, and kept up for three days ; but it was found that 
the patient grew no better, and another doctor was sent for, 
who soon came with his family of three or four persons, the 
first doctor remaining, as the more persons they have to sing 
the better. 

" ' Old John/ as the last doctor was usually called, had no 
sooner partaken of food than he sat down at the feet of the 
patient, covering himself completely with his blanket. He 
remained in this position three or four hours, without moving 
or speaking. He was communing with the 'To-man-na- 
was,' or familiar spirit. 

" When he was ready, he commenced singing in a loud 
and harsh manner, making most vehement gesticulations. 
He then knelt on the patient's body, pressing his clenched 
fists into her sides and breast till it seemed to me the woman 
must be killed. Every few seconds he would scoop his hands 
together as if he had caught something, then turning towards 
the fire would blow through his fingers, as though he had 
something in them he wished to cast into the flames. The 
fire was kept stirred up, so as to have plenty of embers, on 
which, it appeared, he was trying to burn the evil spirit he 
was exorcising. There was no oil put on the fire this time, 
for the Indians told me they put on oil to light up their 
lodge, to let their dead friends see they had plenty, and were 
happy, and did not wish, to go with them ; but now all they 
wanted was to have the fire hot enough to burn the ' skokeen ' 
or evil spirit the doctor was trying to expel. The pounding 
and singing were kept up the same as at the first perform- 
ance. Old John sang to his * To-man-na-was ' to aid him ; 



Chap. XI. INTERCHANGE OP GIFTS. 263 

then, addressing the supposed spirit, he by turns coaxed, 
cajoled, and threatened to induce him to depart. But all 
was of no avail, for in two days the woman died/' * 

At all the feasts the chiefs and heads of families give 
away and destroy a great deal of property ; this raises them 
greatly in the estimation of their own and the people of 
other tribes summoned to the feast. Individuals and even 
tribes will sometimes travel 100 miles or more to be at the 
feasts of another tribe. The whole object of amassing wealth, 
indeed, seems to be for the gratification of afterwards de- 
stroying it in public. I was at a feast once where 800 
blankets were said to have been destroyed by one man. I 
saw three sea-otter skins, for one of which 30 blankets had 
been offered and refused a few days previously, cut up into 
little bits about the size of two fingers, and distributed among 
the guests. In the interchange of presents the same crests 
never give to or receive from each other. I say, in the 
' interchange :' for in making a present an Indian always has 
in view the return that will be made him. Indeed, should 
an Indian make you a present at a feast, and you omit to 
repay the compliment by presenting him with something 
equally valuable at the next feast, he will not hesitate to 
demand his gift back again. Mr. Duncan speaks thus of the 
religious feasts, and, among other customs, of the destruction 
of property on such occasions : — 

" Their greatest luxury at such times is rice and molasses : 
their second dish of importance is berries and grease. Now 
and then I hear of a rum-feast being given, which is generally 
succeeded by quarrelling and sometimes murder. They are 
very particular about whom they invite to their feasts, and, on 
great occasions, men and women feast separately, the women 
always taking the precedence. Vocal music and dancing 
have great prominence in their proceedings. When a person 

* • Three Years in Shoalwater Bay,' by T. Swan. 



264 RELIGIOUS FEASTS. Chap. XI. 

is going to give a great feast, lie sends, on the first day, the 
females of his household round the camp to invite all his 
female friends. The next day a party of men is sent round 
to call the male guests together. The other day, a party of 
eight or ten females, dressed in their best, with their faces 
newly painted, came into the Fort-yard, formed themselves 
into a semicircle ; then the one in the centre, with a loud 
but clear and musical voice, delivered the invitation, declaring 
what should be given to the guests, and what they should 
enjoy. In this case the invitation was for three women in 
the Fort who are related to chiefs. On the following day a 
band of men came and delivered a similar message, inviting 
the captain in charge. 

" These feasts are generally connected with the giving 
away of property. As an instance, I will relate the last 
occurrence of the kind. The person who sent the aforemen- 
tioned invitations is a chief who has just completed building a 
house. After feasting, I heard he was to give away property 
to the amount of 480 blankets (worth as many pounds to 
him), of which 180 were his own property and the 300 were 
to be subscribed by his people. On the first day of the feast, 
as much as possible of the property to be given him was 
exhibited in the camp. Hundreds of yards of cotton were 
flapping in the breeze, hung from house to house, or on lines 
put up for the occasion. Furs, too, were nailed up on the 
fronts of houses. Those who were going to give away 
blankets or elk-skins managed to get a bearer for every one, 
and exhibited them by making the persons walk in single file 
to the house of the chief. On the next day the cotton which 
had been hung out was now brought on the beach, at a good 
distance from the chief's house, and then run out at full 
length, and a number of bearers, about three yards apart, 
bore it triumphantly away from the giver to the receiver. I 
suppose that about 600 to 800 yards were thus disposed of. 

" After all the property the chief is to receive has thus 



Chap. XI. CUEIOUS NOTION OF PKOPEETY. 265 

been openly handed to him, a day or two is taken up in 
apportioning it for fresh owners. When this done, all the 
chiefs and their families are called together, and each receives 
according to his or her portion. If, however, a chiefs wife is 
not descended from a chief, she has no share in this distri- 
bution, nor is she ever invited to the same feasts with her 
husband. Thus do the chiefs and their people go on reducing 
themselves to poverty. In the case of the chiefs, however, 
this poverty lasts but a short time : they are soon replenished 
from the next giving away, but the people only grow rich 
again according to their industry. One cannot but pity them, 
while one laments their folly. 

" All the pleasure these poor Indians seem to have in their 
property is in hoarding it up for such an occasion as I have 
described. They never think of appropriating what they 
gather to enhance their comforts, but are satisfied if they can 
make a display like this now and then ; so that the man pos- 
sessing but one blanket seems to be as well off as the one 
who possesses twenty ; and thus it is that there is a vast 
amount of dead stock accumulated in the camp doomed never 
to be used, but only now and then to be transferred from 
hand to hand for the mere vanity of the thing. 

" There is another way, however, in which property is dis- 
posed of even more foolishly. If a person be insulted, or 
meet with an accident, or in any way suffer an injury, real or 
supposed, either of mind or body, property must at once be 
sacrificed to avoid disgrace. A number of blankets, shirts, 
or cotton, according to the rank of the person, is torn into 
small pieces and carried off." 

The numberless antics practised at these feasts would take 
far more space to describe than I can devote to them. I 
believe, however, there is some system in them, and that 
much which appears to us sheer folly has a meaning and a 
purpose to these poor creatures. Their sacred feasts are of 
several kinds, but the most common is that which takes 



266 PROPITIATORY FEASTS. Chap. XI. 

place at the commencement of each season, to invoke the aid 
of the deity for fine weather, plenty of fish, &c. &c. A 
glimpse of one of these is given by the Eev. Mr. Garrett (of 
whom I shall have occasion to speak hereafter in con- 
nection with the missions to the Indians), in a letter to his 
brother : — 

"Bee. 16. — When crossing the bridge to the Indian School 
to-day, I was astonished by a very loud noise proceeding from 
one of the houses of the Songhies. Guided by the sound, I 
entered the house to see what was going on. For a time, so 
great was the din, I could make nothing of it. At length, by 
force of inquiry, and pressing through the crowd to the front, 
I witnessed the following scene. A space, about 40 feet by 
20 feet, had been carefully swept; three large bright fires 
were burning upon the earthen floor; round three sides of 
this space a bench was fixed, upon which were packed, as 
close as they could fit, a crowd of young women. I do not 
think there were any men or boys among them, but there 
being only the light of the fires, I could not see very distinctly. 
Each of these individuals was armed with two sticks. In front 
of them, extending all the way round the rectangular space, 
was a breadth of white calico. Under this calico the row of 
sticks exhibited themselves. Upon the ground, in the corner 
on my right, was a young man provided with a good-sized box, 
which he had fixed upon an angle and used as a drum. Also, 
on the ground, still nearer to me, sat an old man and an old 
woman; and flat upon the ground, apparently dead, lay a 
female chief, with her head reclining in the lap of the old 
crone ; while around me there stood a motley crowd of all 
tribes, staring first at me and then at the stage. All this time 
the choir upon the benches kept up a sort of mixture between 
a howl and a w r ail, while they beat time upon the bench with 
the forest of sticks with which they were armed ; our friend 
upon the ground making his wooden drum eloquent of noise. 
It is utterly vain to attempt to give any description of the 



Chap. XI. NOISINESS OF THE CEREMONY. 267 

terrible noise which was thus occasioned. This continuing 
for about twenty minutes, the female chief began to show 
signs of life ; first, by a slight motion of the hands, then 
of the arms, then of the shoulders, and so on, until her 
whole frame became violently agitated; the din and the 
uproar increasing in intensity as her agitation increased. 
At length she shook herself into a sitting position, when, with 
hair dishevelled and glaring eyes, she formed a singularly 
repulsive spectacle. Her agitation increased, until there 
could have been no part of her body which did not shake — 
the storm and rattle of sticks and the howling unmeaning 
wail steadily keeping pace with her — when, suddenly, at a 
motion of her hand, there was an instantaneous silence. They 
watched her narrowly and her every motion was observed. 
Upon a signal they began again, and stopped as suddenly. 
At length she got upon her hunkers, and in that not very 
graceful position jumped about between the fires. Presently, 
as her inspiration increased, she raised herself and ultimately 
got herself erect. Having, then, by a series of very ungraceful 
motions, completed a journey round the fires, she came to a 
stand at the end of the rectangle next which the old man and 
woman were sitting. . . . This being done, such a clatter 
and rattle and yell were raised as nearly deafened me. . . . 
My time being now exhausted, I was obliged to leave this 
strange but interesting scene. . . . 

"It was refreshing to breathe the sea-air again and gaze 
upon the light of day, after emerging from so unearthly a 
place. Pursuing my way, I met a man carrying two large 
boilers. I cross-examined him, and ascertained that the 
female chief, who was playing her part within among the 
women, would presently give an abundant feast of wild-fowl 
to all the men, and that he was bringing down the boilers to 
cook the same. He further stated that all the men were 
assembled in his house, awaiting the gift, and that, if I wished, 
he would gladly show me where they were. I accompanied 



268 PROPITIATION FOR THE NEW YEAR. Chap. XI. 

him joyfully. I found a very large house, carefully swept, 
with several good fires burning brightly upon the earthen 
floor, and about fifty or sixty men assembled, in patient ex- 
pectation of the birds. I inquired into the nature of the 
musical entertainment going on. They told me that was their 
" Tamanoes," or sacred feast ; that they always played and 
danced so during the latter half of the last month in the year ; 
that they did so for two reasons — first, to make their hearts 
good for the coming year, and secondly, to bring plenty of 
rain, instead of snoiv ; that if they did not do so, a great deal 
of snow would come, and they should be very much afraid" 

At their grand feasts and ceremonies some of the chief men 
wear very curious masks and dresses — the former composed 
of the heads of animals decorated with feathers, and painted 
various colours. At Fort Kupert, " Whale," one of the Quaw- 
guult chiefs, showed me his masks, which he kept carefully 
locked up in a large box. One in particular was most extra- 
ordinary: it was a wooden head, large enough to take his 
own inside easily, and I think meant for an eagle ; the mouth 
was very large, and could be opened by strings, which were 
carried through the top of the mask and down the back, so as 
to be worked by the wearer's hands. I have seen others 
with strings to make the wings flap, and to turn the head 
from side to side. 

On all occasions of peace-making, whether it be feast or 
palaver, the chiefs cover their heads with eagles' down and 
scatter it about them and over the person with whom they 
are making peace. I have seen this done on several occa- 
sions and under different circumstances. With them, as with 
us, white always denotes peace. For example, the Indians, 
whom we employed on board as interpreters, always put white 
feathers in their caps when going among a strange tribe. Mr. 
Duncan also speaks of this occurring at their reception of 
him on two different occasions. 

He says : — " Much to my sorrow, he (the chief) put on his 



Chap. XL SIGNIFICANT USB OF BIRDS' DOWN. 269 

dancing-mask and robes. The leading singers stepped out, 
and soon all were engaged in a spirited chant. They kept 
excellent time by clapping their hands and beating a drum. 
(I found out afterwards that they had been singing my praises, 
and asking me to pity them and do them good.) The chief 
Kahdoonahah danced with all his might during the singing. 
He wore a cap which had a mask in front, set with mother-of- 
pearl and trimmed with porcupine-quills. The quills enabled 
him to hold a quantity of white birds' down on the top of his 
head, which he ejected while dancing by jerking his head 
forward ; thus he soon appeared as if in a shower of snow. 
In the middle of the dance a man approached me with a 
handful of down and blew it over my head, thus symbolically 
uniting me in friendship with all the chiefs present and the 
tribes they severally represented." 

On another occasion he says : — " The usual course was pur- 
sued. Kinsahdad dressed himself up in his robes, and then 
danced while the people sang and clapped their hands. During 
the performance I was nearly covered with white downy 
feathers. A man, after having feathered Kinsahdad's head, 
came and blew a handful over me. One great feature of the 
dance was that the performer should keep a cloud of feathers 
flying about his guest. It was done in this way : the dancer, 
after making a graceful approach, would commence a retreat, 
still keeping his face toward me, and, in perfect time with 
the song and clapping of hands, jerk his head forward at 
every step, and thus keep a quantity of feathers flying from 
his head-dress." 

The reader will notice in these extracts, and in all that has 
been said about the Indian feasts, a curious distinction between 
the customs of the West and those of the East. Here it 
is always the men, and the chief men, who dance and take 
a part in all the antics, while in the East the women are the 
performers. I have never seen an Indian woman dance at a 
feast, and believe it is seldom if ever done. The young 



270 MANNER OF CONDUCTING WAR. Chap. XI. 

men sit round and look on with awe at what Easterns would 
regard as beneath the dignity of man. So with work : the 
woman of the West is a slave, performing the most menial 
offices, while the woman of the East lives a life of luxurious 
idleness. 

On missions of peace also this down is, as I have said, made 
use of. One day in talking to Mr. Bamfield, the Indian agent 
on the West coast of Yancouver Island, who has resided 
among the ' Ohyat tribe several years, we were comparing 
many of the Indian customs with those of Europe, and he 
told me that on the occasion of a quarrel between the Ohyat 
and another tribe, a chief, who was one of the best speakers 
among them, was employed for several days as envoy, 
going frequently to the enemy's camp to negociate, and that 
his diplomacy averted war. During the whole time of the 
negociations the peace-maker wore eagles' down all over his 
head, so that he looked as if he had been powdered, and 
eagles' feathers in his cap, or secured to a band round his 
head. I remember Mr. Bamfield mentioning another occa- 
sion, on which they came to blows, as illustrative of the sys- 
tematicmethod of their approach and attack. The Ohyats 
and Nootkas joined forces against the Clayoquots ; and Mr. 
Bamfield accompanied them part of the way. When they 
approached the Clayoquot village they were to attack, they 
put into a sandy beach and landed : the chiefs then held a 
consultation with those who knew the place best, and having 
hit upon a young man who had a Clayoquot wife, told him to 
draw a plan of the place on the sand. He commenced by 
marking out the ground, then the houses ; describing the par- 
titions in them, how many men were in each, whether they 
were brave or cowardly : in fact, describing the place accu- 
rately. They then divided the w r ork between the two tribes, 
and, standing back to back some little way apart, the chiefs 
told off each man to his duty. Everything, he said, was per- 
fectly arranged. The attack was, however, not successful, as 




INDIAN BURIAL-GROUND. 



Chap. XI. MODES OF SEPULTURE. 271 

the Nootkas failed in their part and would not leave their 
canoes. The Ohyats took 18 heads, and lost about the same 
number. The cause of the war was that the Clayoquots had 
murdered a white man, and tried to put the blame on the 
others, among whom he was living. y 

As a rule, the Indians burn their dead, and then bury the 
ashes. The mode of depositing these remains differs even 
among members of the same tribes. Sometimes they are 
buried in the ground, sometimes in trees, in boxes or in 
canoes. There is, I think, no rule or rules observed in 
sepulture. I have seen more suspended among the 
branches of the trees than buried in the ground, but their 
mode of sepulture depends very much upon convenience and 
circumstances. More are laid on the ground than in it, for 
the Indians have, I believe, a decided objection to interment 
— whether from any idea of a resurrection or not, I cannot 
say. When buried on the ground, they are generally placed 
among the bushes on some small islet, and the top of the 
box is always covered with large stones. We used quite 
commonly to come across the bleached bones when putting 
up surveying-stations. It is very common for a man's pro- 
perty to be buried with him, or suspended over his grave. 
In the case of great men the latter course is, I think, chosen 
generally for the purpose of showing their wealth. I have 
seen the grave of a chief inland with a number of blankets 
cut in strips hanging over it, several pairs of trowsers, and 
two or three muskets. At Nanaimo there is a small hut 
built over the remains of the late chief. In the case of a 
chief it is also customary to paint or carve his crest on the 
box in which his bones lie, or to affix it on a large sign- 
board upon a pole or neighbouring tree. Mr. Duncan says 
that if the crest of the deceased happens to be an eagle or a 
raven, it is usual among the Northern Indians to carve it in 
the act of flying — the bird being affixed to the edge of the 
box with its wings spread, so that it appears to a passer-by 



272 PRACTICE OF INCREMATION. Chap. XI, 

as if j list about to leave the coffin; and he (Mr. Duncan) 
very naturally asks whether this may come of any knowledge 
of a resurrection of the dead among the Indians. 

They will not usually let strangers witness the burial of 
their dead. It was at one time not uncommon for Indians 
to desert for ever a lodge in which one of their family had 
died ; but this rarely, if ever, ha23pens now. 

The rites of mourning are carried out strictly, but not 
until the corpse is buried. After this, at sunrise and sunset, 
they wail and sing dirges for the space of some thirty days. 

I never witnessed a funeral myself ; but I think that, ex- 
cept when the person to be buried is of some rank, there is 
very little ceremony. 

At Fort Simpson it appears to be the regular custom to 
burn the dead, but this is departed from in some cases ; for 
Mr. Duncan mentions witnessing a funeral there from the 
Fort Gallery. He says : " The deceased was a chief's daughter, 
who had died suddenly. Contrary to the custom of the 
Indians here (who always burn their dead), the chief begged 
permission to inter her remains in the Fort Garden, along- 
side her mother, who was buried a short time ago, and was 
the first Indian thus privileged. The corpse was placed in a 
rude box, and borne on the shoulders of four men. About 
twenty Indians, principally women, accompanied the old 
chief (whose heart seemed ready to burst) to the grave. A 
bitter wailing was kept up for three-quarters of an hour, 
during which time about seven or eight men, after a good 
deal of clamour (which strangely contrasted with the appa- 
rent grief of the mourners), fixed up a pole at the head of 
the grave, on which was suspended an Indian garment. At 
the head of the mother's grave several drinking-vessels were 
attached, as well as a garment. 

It is certain that the Indians have some idea of a Superior 
Being ; and this idea, no doubt, dates before the appearance of 
any priests among them. They believe, too, that thunder is 



Chap. XL TKADITION OF THE FLOOD. 273 

his voice. I remember on one occasion, when I was tra- 
velling in a canoe during a violent thunderstorm, that, at 
each peal, all the rowers rested on their paddles, and said a 
prayer, taught them, no doubt, by the Komish priests, and I 
could not get them to paddle on till they had finished it. 

After a storm on the coast, they always search for dead 
whales, and seem to connect them in some way with thunder. 
It is very difficult indeed to get at any of their traditions, 
and still more difficult to distinguish between their own 
standard doctrines and the teaching of the priests. One of 
the settlers on the west coast of Vancouver Island, who has 
been there for a number of years, told me that there was at 
Ohyat a carving of two eagles with a dove in their centre 
and two serpents in the rear, with a whale seemingly seeking 
protection from the serpents. This carving representing 
thunder, under its native name Tuturrh, was held in great 
respect by them. An old half-breed once told me that one of 
their legends was that crows were white once, but were made 
black by a curse: what they had done to deserve this 
punishment I could not ascertain. 

The Indians appear generally to have some tradition about 
the Flood. Mr. Duncan mentions that the Tsimsheans say that 
all people perished in the water but a few. Amongst that few 
there were no Tsimsheans ; and now they are at a loss to tell 
how they have reappeared as a race. In preaching at Obser- 
vatory Inlet he referred to the Flood, and this led the chief 
to tell him the following story. He said : " We have a tradi- 
tion about the swelling of the w r ater a long time ago. As you 
are going up the river you will see the high mountain to the 
top of which a few of our forefathers escaped when the waters 
rose, and thus were saved. But many more w 7 ere saved in 
their canoes, and were drifted about and scattered in every 
direction. The waters went down again ; the canoes rested 
on the land, and the people settled themselves in the various 
spots whither they had been driven. Thus it is the Indians 



274 BELIEF IN THE SON OF GOD. Chap. XI. 

are found spread all over the country ; but they all under- 
stand the same songs and have the same customs, which 
shows that they are one people." 

Schoolcraft, the American writer, in his * History of the 
Indians/ narrates a similar tradition, which is found current 
on the east side of the Kocky Mountains. 

As their languages become more known, many other 
legends and traditions will doubtless come to light ; but I 
must not conclude this notice of them without reference to 
the most interesting yet known, viz., a belief in the Son of 
God. " This [Observatory Inlet] being " (says Mr. Duncan) 
" a noted place, the Indians have several legends connected 
with the various objects about. I listened to some, and re- 
marked that in most of them the Son of the Chief above occu- 
pies the place of benefactor or hero, and most of the acts 
ascribed to him are acts of mercy. It was he, they say, that 
first brought the small fish to this inlet for them, which now 
forms one of their principal articles of food." 

As I have before said, the Koman Catholic priests have, so 
far as regards forms and the observance of certain religious 
customs, done a good deal among them. I remember one 
Sunday in Port Harvey, Johnstone Strait, when we were 
all standing on deck, on a bright sunny morning just before 
church-time, looking at six or eight large canoes which 
hung about the ship, they suddenly struck up a chant, which 
they continued for about ten minutes, singing in beautiful 
time, their voices sounding over the perfectly still water 
and dying away among the trees with a sweet cadence that I 
shall never forget. I have no idea what the words were, but 
they told us they had been taught them by the priests. The 
Eoman Catholic priest, indeed, has little cause to complain 
of his reception by the Indians. On the west coast, at a 
place where the priest had been before, but had not time to 
revisit them, he sent his shovel-hat in the canoe in his stead ; 
and upon its arrival the whole village turned out, shouting 



Chap. XL FONDNESS FOR GAMBLING. 275 

" Le Pretre ! Le Pretre ! " and had prayers at once upon 
the spot. I have seen other Indians, on the priest's arrival 
among them, cease their fishing and other occupations, and 
hurry to meet him. 

At Esquimalt all the Indians attend the Eomish mission 
on Sunday morning, and at eight o'clock the whole village 
may be seen paddling across the harbour to the mission- 
house, singing at the top of their voices. Certainly the 
self-denying zeal and energy with which the priests labour 
among them merit all the success they meet with. To come 
upon them, as I have done, going from village to village 
alone among the natives, in a dirty little canoe, drenched to 
the skin, forces comparisons between them and the generality 
of the labourers of other creeds that are by no means flat- 
tering to the latter. 

Perhaps the worst failing of the Eed man, next to his love 
of fire-water, is his passion for gambling. Most of them will 
gamble away everything they have — houses, wives, property, 
all are staked upon the chances of their favourite games. If 
in passing their village at night you leave them sitting in a 
ring gambling, the chances are that, upon ) r our return in the 
morning, you will find them at it still. I have only seen two 
games played by them, in both of which the object was to 
guess the spot where a small counter happened to be. In 
one of these games the counter was held in the player's 
hands, which he kept swinging backwards and forwards. 
Every now and then he would stop, and some one 
would guess in which hand he held the counter, winning 
of course if he guessed right. The calm intensity and 
apparent freedom from excitement, with which they watch 
the progress of this game is perfect, and you only know * 
the intense anxiety they really feel by watching their faces 
and the twitching of their limbs. The other game con- 
sisted of two blankets spread out upon the ground, and 
covered with saw-dust about an inch thick. In this was 

t2 



276 PRACTICE OF POLYGAMY. Chap. XL 

placed the counter, a piece of bone or iron about the size of 
half-a-crown, and one of the players shunkd it about, the 
others in turn guessing where it was. These games are 
usually played by ten or twelve men, who. sit in a circle, with 
the property to be staked, if, as is usual, it consists of blankets 
or clothes, near them. Chanting is very commonly kept up 
during the game, probably to allay the excitement. I never 
saw women gamble. 

The Indians are well known' to be polygamists, but I 
believe that a plurality of wives is general only among the 
chiefs of tribes, the rest being commonly too poor to afford 
this luxury. No other cause for any such abstinence on their 
part exists. When Mr. Stain was the Colonial Chaplain at 
Victoria, the chief of the tribe residing there went to him 
for some medicine for his wife, who was ill. He gave him 
something which cured her, and, to the astonishment of the 
chaplain and his family, a day or two afterwards the chief came 
to his house, leading his wife by the hand, and, in gratitude 
for her recovery, presented her to his benefactor. On being 
remonstrated with, I believe, by the chaplain's wife, who 
objected, not at all unnaturally, to the nature of the offering, 
he said it was nothing, not worth mentioning in fact, as he 
could easily spare her, she being one of eleven ! 

I have said that intrigue with the wives of men of 
other tribes is one of the commonest causes of quarrel 
among the Indians. This is not surprising, when it is con- 
sidered, among other things, that marriage is entirely a 
buying and selling process, and the bargain is frequently 
made when the principals are children. The man or his 
friends give so many blankets for the wife, while yet a child. 
If when she grows up she refuses to marry the man who has 
purchased her, she or her friends must return all the pro- 
perty paid for her; if they cannot do this, she is obliged 
to go to the buyer. There is generally a feast at the 
wedding of any one of importance in a tribe ; bat this, I think, 







INDIAN GIRL, SHOWING CONICAL FORM OF SKILL. 



Chap. XL FACIAL CHARACTERISTICS. 277 

depends entirely on the wealth of bride and bridegroom, 
much as in our own country. 

In appearance the Indians of Vancouver Island have the 
common facial characteristics of low foreheads, high cheek- 
bones, aquiline noses, and large mouths. They all have 
their heads flattened more or less*; some tribes, however, cul- 
tivating this peculiarity more than others. The process of 
flattening the head is effected while they are infants, and is 
very disgusting. I once made a woman uncover a baby's head, 
and its squashed elongated appearance nearly made me sick. 
By far the most flattened heads belong to the tribe of Quatsino 
Indians, living at the north-west end of the island. Those who 
have only seen the tribes of the east side of the island may 
be inclined to think the sketch of this girl exaggerated, but it 
was really drawn by measurement, and she was found to have 
18 inches of solid flesh from her eyes to the top of her head. 
It does not appear that the process at all interferes with their 
intellectual capacities. Among some of the tribes pretty 
women may be seen : nearly all have good eyes and hah*, 
but the state of filth in which they live generally neutralises 
any natural charms they may possess. 

Half-breeds, as a rule, inherit, I am afraid, the vices of 
both races : I speak of the uneducated half-breed, to whose 
Indian abandonment to vice and utter want of self-control 
appears to be added that boldness and daring in evil which 
he inherits from his white parent. 

The Indian's head is generally large, often so large as to 
be somewhat out of proportion to the rest of his frame. 
Men and women both part their hair in the middle, and wear 
it long, hanging over the shoulder. The hair is generally 
good, but so neglected that it looks, and is, very dirty. 
The custom of painting prevails among all Indians in North 
America. They paint the face in hideous designs of black and 
red (the only colours used), and the parting of the hair is also 
coloured red. I have seen them when travelling, and when I 



278 MODE OF WEARING THE HAIR. Chap. XL 

knew they had not washed for three weeks, take the greatest 
pains in colouring their faces, oiling their hair with fish-oil, 
and painting the parting. The northern males sometimes 
wear their hair cut short, or rolled up into a sort of ball on 
the top of the head ; but the southern tribes consider it a 
disgrace to have short hair. A Barclay Sound lad, whom 
we took on board the * Hecate,' and who had been per- 
suaded to have his hair cut, said he could not go back to his 
tribe until it had grown again. 

The men very seldom have beards or moustaches, and are 
in the habit of pulling out any hair that appears on their 
faces. This beardlessness appertains to almost all the North 
American Indians, and I believe not to them only, as the 
natives of the Congo, who are very fine men, have no hair on 
their faces. The hair of their heads is almost always dark 
brown, though sometimes an Albino is seen with quite white 
hair. The strong feature in all their faces is their eyes. 
which are nearly always fine, and among the half-breeds 
very beautiful. 

Their constant diet of dry fish, &c, has the curious effect 
of destroying the teeth, so that you hardly ever see an 
Indian over middle age with any visible, having worn them 
down level with the gums. 

Some Indians, especially the tribes of Queen Charlotte 
Islands, carve very well, and much of their leisure time is 
spent in decorating their canoes and paddles, making dishes 
and spoons in wood or slate, bracelets and rings of metal. 
They make busts out of whales' teeth, that are in some cases 
very faithful likenesses. Like the Chinese, they imitate 
literally anything that is given them to do ; so that if you 
give them a cracked gun-stock to copy, and do not warn 
them, they will in their manufacture repeat the blemish. 
Many of their slate-carvings are very good indeed, and their 
designs most curious. 

One of their strangest prejudices, which appears to pervade 



Chap. XL ANTIPATHY TOWAEDS THE AMERICANS. 279 

all tribes alike, is a dislike to telling their names — thus you 
never get a man's right name from himself; but they will 
tell each other's names without hesitation. 

I have previously mentioned that slavery is universally 
practised among these tribes, and the subsequent extracts 
from Mr. Duncan's Journal will show with what horrid cruelty 
their captives are treated — indeed, it often happens that 
some crime is atoned for by a present of three or four 
slaves, who are butchered in cold blood. 

I have also spoken of the intense hatred of them all for 
the " Boston men." * This hatred, although caused chiefly by 
the cruelty with which they are treated by them, is also 
owing in a great measure to the system adopted by the 
Americans, of moving them away from their own villages 
when their sites become settled by whites. The Indians 
often express dread lest we should adopt the same course, 
and have lately petitioned Governor Douglas on the subject. 

Their phraseology abounds in highly figurative and flowery 
expressions. It is so little known, however, as yet, that 
anything like an accurate account is impossible. In illustra- 
tion, I will, however, quote from Mr. Duncan's Journal an 
account given him by an Indian, of the first appearance of 
white men among his people, the'Keethratlah Indians, near 
Fort Simpson. " One very old man," he writes, " with 
characteristic animation, related to me the tradition of the 
first appearance of the whites near this place. It was as 
follows: — 'A large canoe of Indians were busy catching 
halibut in one of these channels. A thick mist enveloped 
them. Suddenly they heard a noise as if a large animal were 
striking through the water. Immediately they concluded 
that a monster from the deep was in pursuit of them. With 
all speed they hauled up their fishing-lines, seized the paddles, 
and strained every nerve to reach the shore. Still the 

* Americans. 



280 FIRST ADVENT OF WHITES. Chap. XI. 

plunging noise came nearer. Every minute they expected 
to be ingulphecl within the jaws of some huge creature. 
However, they reached the land, jumped on shore, and 
turned round in breathless anxiety to watch the approach of 
the monster. Soon a boat rilled with strange-looking men 
emerged from the mist. The pulling of the oars had caused 
the strange noise. Though somewhat relieved of fear, the 
Indians stood spell-bound with amazement. 

" ' The strangers landed, and beckoned the Indians to come 
to them and bring them some fish. One of them had over 
his shoulder what was supposed only to be a stick : presently 
he pointed it to a bird that was flying past — a violent poo 
went forth — down came the bird to the ground. The Indians 
died! — as they revived, they questioned each other as to 
their state whether any were dead, and what each had felt. 

" * The whites then made signs for a fire to be lighted ; the 
Indians proceeded at once, according to their usual tedious 
practice, of rubbing two sticks together. The strangers 
laughed, and one of them, snatching up a handful of dry 
grass, struck a spark into a little powder placed under it. 
Instantly another poo ! — and a blaze. The Indians died ! 
After this the newcomers wanted some fish boiled : the 
Indians, therefore, put the fish and water into one of their 
square wooden buckets, and set some stones on the fire ; 
intending, when they were hot, to cast them into the vessel, 
and thus boil the food. The whites were not satisfied with this 
way : one of them fetched a tin kettle out of the boat, put 
the fish and some water into it — and then, strange to say, set 
it on the fire. The Indians looked on with astonishment. 
However, the kettle did not consume ; the water did not run 
into the fire. Then, again, the Indians died ! 

" ' When the fish was eaten, the strangers put a kettle of rice 
on the fire ; the Indians looked at each other, and whispered 
Akshahn, ahshahn ! or, " Maggots, maggots ! " The rice being 



Chap. XI. FACE OKNAMENTS. 281 

cooked, some molasses was produced and mixed with it. 
The Indians stared and said, Coutree urn tsakah ahket, or 
" The grease of dead people." 

" ' The whites then tendered the rice and molasses to the 
Indians ; but they only shrank away in disgust. Seeing this, 
to prove their integrity, they sat down and enjoyed it them- 
selves. The sight stunned the Indians, and again they all 
died. Some other similar wonders were worked, and the 
profound stupor which the Indians felt each time to come 
over them, they termed death. 

" ' The Indians' turn had now come to make the white 
strangers die ; they dressed their heads, and painted their 
faces. A Nbk-noJc or wonder-working spirit possessed them : 
they came slowly and solemnly, seated themselves before the 
whites, then suddenly lifted up their heads and stared ; their 
reddened eyes had the desired effect — the whites died ! ' " 

The " heart "is the word always used by them in speaking 
of motive, disposition, or feelings. If a person is angry, they 
say — " His heart is bad to them." If they wish to express 
their kind feelings or intentions, they say — " Their heart is 
very good towards you." And if the fish leave a place 
where they are usually caught, or it is a bad season, they 
say the fishes' hearts are bad. 

All the Indians, both men and women, wear ornaments in 
the ears, nose, and lips. These are made of shell or bone ; 
th6 commonest earrings worn by almost all, are bits of 
a blue shell like the inside of an oyster, and called in 
trade " kopose." Eings of the same material passed through 
the cartilage of the nose are very common : the northern 
tribes wear also very generally a small round shell, called 
the "hai-qua," in appearance not unlike a piece of clay- 
pipe stem one or two inches long, stuck into their lower 
lips at an angle of 45° with the chin. Some also wear a 
piece of bone inside the lower lip, making it project in a 
horridly ugly way. Preparation for this, of course, has to be 



282 HIDEOUS LIP DEFORMITY. Chap. XI. 

coinnienced while the " patient " is young : they first bore a 
hole in the hollow of the under lip, in which is put a piece of 
silver the shape of a pen. After some time this is taken out 
and an oval-shaped piece of wood inserted horizontally ; after 
a time this becomes too small, and a larger piece is inserted, 
till, as a woman gets towards old age, she will have a piece 
of wood three inches long and two inches wide in the lip. 
Fortunately this custom is only practised among the northern 
tribes, for it makes a woman the most hideous creature 
imaginable. The lip-piece is concave on both sides, while the 
edge is grooved so as to keep it in its place ; this sometimes 
answers the purpose of a spoon, and Mr. Duncan says he has 
seen an old woman put her food on it for a few seconds while 
it cooled, and then raising her lip, empty this semi-natural 
platter into her mouth. This lip, he says, is considered a 
mark of honour among these poor creatures : a woman's 
rank among women — that is, as far as her word, opinion, 
or advice is concerned — is settled according to the size 
of her wooden lip ; so that if a young woman dares to 
quarrel with an old one, the latter will not remind her 
of her youth, inexperience, and consequent unfitness to 
dictate to age, but will reproach her with the inferior 
size of her lip. Ked is the colour most commonly used 
in painting the face ; but sometimes black is applied. I 
have seen three or four canoes full of Haida Indians (from 
Queen Charlotte Island), each canoe holding 16 or 18 people, 
all black as my hat. The face is sometimes tatooed, but 
not so commonly as on the eastern side of the continent. 
For dress many now wear shirts and trowsers, purchased at 
the stations of the Hudson Bay Company ; but the normal 
style is still a blanket brought round the body, and pinned 
with a wooden skewer on the shoulder, or held by the hand. 
On my first visit to this place, this was rather a picturesque 
costume, as they mostly wore native blankets made of dogs' 
hair, and stained various colours ; but now they use English 






Chap. XI. CLOTHING AND CANOES. 283 

blankets, and as they are always very dirty, the near effect is 
not pleasant, though they still look picturesque at a distance. 
Very small feet and well-made hands are common among 
them ; as a rule, they all go bare-footed and bare-headed, 
though, as I have before mentioned, when travelling they 
wear mocassins. These are of no use, however, for keeping 
out wet ; for, being made of plain deer-skin, they soon get 
quite soft and sloppy. No doubt many of the diseases so 
common among them are attributable to constant wet feet. 
Sometimes they wear caps or tie handkerchiefs round their 
heads, and in wet weather they frequently wear mushroom- 
shaped hats made of the bark of the thuja, cut in narrow strips, 
plaited much like Panama straw, and painted with various 
devices. Their canoes are of all sizes, from frail things a man 
can hardly find room to sit in, to boats large enough to hold 
30 or 40 people with their equipment. They are all made of 
single trees, although sometimes the very large ones have a 
bow and stern tacked on. After they cut the tree down 
they burn out the inside, and then finish it off and shape it 
with axe and knife. The models of some are beautiful, their 
shape and fashion varying according to the place they are 
required for. Thus all the Indians inside the island and 
northward of it have round and pointed sterns, while in the 
Strait of Fuca and on west coast of the island they have 
straight-up and down sterns, each being adapted to the 
waters in which they are used. The birch-bark canoes, made 
from the bark of Betula papyracea, and so celebrated in the 
interior and east of the Kocky Mountains are unknown, or at 
least unused, on the coast. 

I must not omit to mention that most of the Indians 
are good shots at a fixed object ; but they never think 
of firing at a bird on the wing. Nothing excites their 
admiration more than to see birds shot flying ; but I could 
never get them to try it. No doubt a great reason for 
this is their scanty supply of powder and shot; they are 



284 MODES OF SHOOTING BIKDS, &c. Chap. XI. 

always begging for these, and will barter almost anything for 
them. Their mode of approaching wild-fowl is very curious 
and characteristic : a man will take a small canoe and fill 
the bows with branches of evergreens, so as completely to 
conceal himself seated behind it. Through the middle of 
this hedge he points his gun, letting the barrel rest along the 
stem of the canoe. He then paddles the canoe very quietly 
along in the direction of a number of birds sitting on the 
water, taking care to keep the bows straight towards them : 
the birds are very sharp, and will swim across the canoe 
to ascertain if there is any deception ; but as they all go 
one way, the man is able to keep the canoe facing them, 
and they fancy it is a floating bush. So careful are these 
men of their powder, however, that they are not generally 
content to get within shot of one bird, but will manoeuvre 
about till they can get two or three in a line. I have seen 
them devote half a day to this, perhaps only firing once in 
several hours. * 

For vermin they set traps with large stones, very like our 
brick traps, except that they are open at both ends ; this is 
put in some place where the animal is in . the habit ol 
passing, and falls on him as he runs under it. 

To shoot deer, they usually ascertain the spot on some 
stream where the animals go to drink ; they then select the 
first hollow tree within shot of the trail, and build up the 
entrance to it with bushes so as to shelter themselves from 
view. Towards evening or before dawn, they ensconce them- 
selves in this tree, from whence they get a deliberate shot at 
the unsuspecting animal as he passes. 

The value of the following extracts from Mr. Duncan's 
letters to the Church Missionary Society respecting these 
Coast Indians is so great that, lengthy as they are, I will 
make no excuse for giving them to the reader. 

"Sometimes slaves have to be sacrificed to satiate the 
vanity of their owners, or take away reproach. Only the 



Chap. XI. SACRIFICE OF SLAVES. 285 

other day we were called upon to witness a terrible scene of 
this kind. An old chief, in cool blood, ordered a slave to be 
dragged to the beach, murdered, and thrown into the water. 
His orders were quickly obeyed. The victim was a poor 
woman. Two or three reasons are assigned for this foul act : 
one is, that it is to take away the disgrace attached to his 
daughter, who has been suffering some time from a ball 
wound in the arm. Another report is, that he does not 
expect his daughter to recover, so he has killed his slave in 
order that she may prepare for the coming of his daughter 
into the unseen world. I think the former reason is the most 
probable. 

""I did not see the murder, but, immediately after, I saw 
crowds of people running out of those houses near to where 
the corpse was thrown, and forming themselves into groups 
at a good distance away. This I learnt was from fear of 
what was to follow. Presently two bands of furious wretches 
appeared, each headed by a man in a state of nudity. They 
gave vent to the most unearthly sounds, and the two naked 
men made themselves look as unearthly as possible, proceed- 
ing in a creeping kind of stoop, and stepping like two proud 
horses, at the same time shooting forward each arm alter- 
nately, which they held out at full length for a little time in 
the most defiant manner. Besides this, the continual jerking 
their heads back, causing their long black hair to twist about, 
added much to their savage appearance. 

" For some time they pretended to be seeking the body, 
and the instant they came where it lay they commenced 
screaming and rushing round it like so many angry wolves. 
Finally they seized it, dragged it out of the water, and laid 
it on the beach, where I was told the naked men would com- 
mence tearing it to pieces with their teeth. The two bands 
of men immediately surrounded them, and so hid their horrid 
work. In a few minutes the crowd broke again into two, 
when each of the naked cannibals appeared with half of the 



286 INITIATION OF MEDICINE-MEN. Qhap. XI. 

body in his hands. Separating a few yards, they commenced, 
amid horrid yells, their still more horrid feast. The sight 
was too terrible to behold. I left the gallery with a depressed 
heart. I may mention that the two bands of savages just 
alluded to belong to that class which the whites term ' medi- 
cine men/ The superstitions connected with this fearful 
system are deeply rooted here ; and it is the admitting and 
initiating of fresh pupils into these arts that employ numbers, 
and excite and interest all, during the winter months. This 
year I think there must have been eight or ten parties of 
them, but each party seldom has more than one pupil at once. 
In relating their proceedings I can give but a faint concep- 
tion of the system as a whole, but still a little will serve to 
show the dense darkness that rests on this place. 

" I may mention that each party has some characteristics 
peculiar to itself; but, in a more general sense, their divisions 
are but three — viz., those who eat human bodies, the dog- 
eaters, and those who have no custom of the kind. 

ei Early in the morning the pupils would be out on the 
beach, or on the rocks, in a state of nudity. Each had a 
place in front of his own tribe ; nor did intense cold interfere 
in the slightest degree. After the poor creature had crept 
about, jerking his head and screaming for some time, a party 
of men would rush out, and, after surrounding him, would 
commence singing. The dog-eating party occasionally carried 
a dead dog to their pupil, who forthwith commenced to tear § 
it in the most doglike manner. The party of attendants kept 
up a low growling noise, or a whoop, which was seconded by 
a screeching noise made from an instrument which they 
believe to be the abode of a spirit. In a little time the 
naked youth would start up again, and proceed a few more 
yards in a crouching posture, with his arms pushed out behind 
him, and tossing his flowing black hair. All the while he is 
earnestly watched by the group about him, and when he 
pleases to sit down they again surround him and commence 



Chap. XT. INITIATION OF MEDICINE-MEN. 287 

singing. This kind of thing goes on, with several little 
additions, for some time. Before the prodigy finally retires, 
he takes a run into every house belonging to his tribe, and is 
followed by his train. When this is done, in some cases he 
has a ramble on the tops of the same houses, during which 
he is anxiously watched by his attendants, as if they expected 
his flight. By-and-by he condescends to come down, and 
they then follow him to his den, which is signified by a rope 
made of red bark being hung over the doorway, so as to 
prevent any person from ignorantly violating its precincts. 
None are allowed to enter that house but those connected 
with the art : all I know, therefore, of their further pro- 
ceedings is, that they keep up a furious hammering, singing, 
and screeching for hours during the day. 

" Of all these parties, none are so much dreaded as the 
cannibals. One morning I was called to witness a stir in the 
camp which had been caused by this set. When I reached 
the gallery I saw hundreds of Tsimsheeans sitting in their 
canoes, which they had just pushed away from the beach. 
I was told that the cannibal party were in search of a body 
to devour, and if they failed to find a dead one, it was pro- 
bable they would seize the first living one that came in their 
way; so that all the people living near to the cannibals' 
house had taken to their canoes to escape being torn to pieces. 
It is the custom among these Indians to burn their dead; 
but I suppose for these occasions they take care to deposit a 
corpse somewhere, in order to satisfy these inhuman wretches. 

"These, then, are some of the things and scenes which 
occur in the day during the winter months, while the nights 
are taken up with amusements — singing and dancing. Occa- 
sionally the medicine parties invite people to their several 
houses, and exhibit tricks before them of various kinds. Some 
of the actors appear as bears, while others wear masks, the 
parts of which are moved by strings. The great feature in 
their proceedings is to pretend to murder, and then to restore 



288 CURIOUS MOON-PERFORMANCE. Chap. XI. 

to life, and so forth. The cannibal, on such occasions, is 
generally supplied with two, three, or four human bodies, 
which he tears to pieces before his audience. Several persons, 
either from bravado or as a charm, present their arms for him 
to bite. I have seen several whom he has thus bitten, and I 
hear two have died from the effects. 

" One very dark night I was told that there was a moon to 
see on the beach. On going to see, there was an illuminated 
disc, with the figure of a man upon it. The water was then 
very low, and one of the conjuring parties had lit up this 
disc at the water's edge. They had made it of wax, with 
great exactness, and presently it was at the full. It was an 
imposing sight. Nothing could be seen around it ; but the 
Indians suppose that the medicine party are then holding 
converse with the man in the moon. Indeed there is no 
wonder in the poor creatures being deluded, for the peculiar 
noises that were made, while all around was perfectly still, 
and the good imitation of the moon while all around was 
enveloped in darkness, seemed just calculated to create wild 
and superstitious notions. After a short time the moon 
waned away, and the conjuring party returned w T hooping to 
their house. 

" Before any young persons can join these medicine parties 
they are supposed to go into the bush for some days, and be 
there alone, whence they receive their supernatural gifts. 
But I am inclined to believe that this is not strictly carried 
out, for it is also supposed that they are not visible when 
they come back: it therefore becomes an easy matter to 
conceal them in their houses for a short time, and then 
publish a lie. The end of all these proceedings is the giving 
away property ; so the chiefs reap the benefit. No person 
need think of becoming " Allied " until he or his friends have 
amassed considerable property, and are disposed to beggar 
themselves. 

" One Sunday I was startled by a peculiar noise proceeding 



Chap. XI. MEDICINE-MEN NOT DOCTORS. 289 

from the camp, and on going to see what was the cause, I 
observed a man, who, it seems, had finished his education as 
an "Allied," and was now going to give away his goods. 
He was proceeding to a distant part of the camp, and step- 
ping all the way like a proud unmanageable horse. Behind 
him were about fifteen or twenty men, all holding on to a kind 
of rope, which went round his waist. They were pretending 
to keep him back, or hold him from taking his flight. Pre- 
sently this party was joined by other two, upon a similar 
errand, and they now seemed to try which could make the 
greatest noise, or look the most unearthly. The three bands, 
after a good deal of manoeuvring, proceeded, I think, to the 
same chief's house. 

" I think it is generally supposed that these parties I have 
described are the doctors of the Bed Indians, because their 
proceedings are called ' medicine work,' and they * medicine 
men ; ' but I find that the medical profession is altogether a 
distinct business, and the doctors a distinct class. After 
investigation of the matter, I am led to conclude that these 
medical practitioners are, for the most part, those who have 
themselves been visited with some serious sickness, and have 
recovered; or else have been, at some time in their lives, 
exposed to great peril, but have escaped uninjured. For 
instance, if a man or woman is taken in a fit, and remains 
motionless for so long that they are concluded dead, should 
such a one ultimately recover, that is the person who is 
regarded as competent to deal with diseases : for it is 
believed, that, during the period of unconsciousness, super- 
natural power and skill was vouchsafed them ; and also, by 
their recovering, it is concluded that they have successfully 
resisted the effects of bad medicine, or the evil workings of 
some malevolent being. Still I do not mean to say that all 
their doctors arise from these circumstances, but mostly so. 
I believe that any shrewd or eccentric man may, by fasting, 

u 



290 CURIOUS MODES OF CUEE. Chap. XI. 

successfully prognosticating, or otherwise acting so as to excite 
the superstitious reverence of the people in his favour, secure 
a footing in this lucrative profession. 

" Next, as to the means employed by the doctors to recover 
patients. For pains in the body they employ a bag of hot 
ashes, after first placing a damp cloth on the skin. If the 
patient is afflicted with a pain in the head, they strike him 
on the place with small branches of the spruce-tree. For 
wounds they have a salve, but they seldom use it except in 
bad cases : the most ordinary method is simply to place a 
quantity of gum over the lips of the wound to keep them 
closed. For most of the diseases which afflict them, they have 
some herb or decoction which they give as a counteractant. 

" But the chief thing relied upon and resorted to, in case 
of failure of other means, is incantation. The instrument 
used is a rattle, generally in the shape of a bird or a frog, in 
the body of which a few small stones are placed.* This is 
whirled about the patient while a song is sung. Occasionally 
the doctor applies his ear, or his mouth, to the place where 
the pain or disorder chiefly rests. It is also very common, at 
this stage, to make incisions where the pain is felt, or to apply 
fire to the place by means of burning tinder made of dried 
wild flax. If relief follows these measures, the doctor asserts 
that he has extracted the foul substance that has done the 
mischief; which substance is supposed by them to be the 
bad or poisonous medicine some evil-disposed one had silently 
inserted into the invalid's body. At such an announcement 
made by the doctor, the patient, and the patient's friends, 
overjoyed at his success, liberally present him with such 
property as they have got. IT, however, a relapse ensues, 
and the invalid dies, the doctor returns every particle of the 
property he has received. When no relief follows the first 

* I have seen these rattles made of the bills of the horned puffin, three or 
four dozen being strung together. — Author. 



Chap. XI. SUPPOSED MALEVOLENT INFLUENCES. 291 

trial, a more furious attack is made another time. If still 
without effect, there is but little hope of the patient's 
recovery. 

" Another curious matter connected with these operations 
is, that when the doctor has got pretty warm in his work, he 
boldly asserts that he can see the soul of the patient, if it is 
present. For this he shuts his eyes for some time, and then 
pronounces his sentence. Either the soul is in its usual 
place, which is a good sign ; or it is out of its proper place, 
and seems wanting to take its flight, which makes the 
patient's case doubtful; or else it has flown away, in which 
case there is no hope for the invalid's recovery. The bold 
deceiver does not even hesitate to tell the people that the soul 
is like a fly in shape, with a long curved proboscis. 

" This people ascribe nearly all their bodily afflictions, and 
most deaths, to the secret working of malevolent persons. 
This being the case, when any person dies — if of any im- 
portance amongst them — and especially if suddenly, the 
friends of the deceased fix upon some one as the cause, either 
a slave, or a stranger just arrived in the camp, or, more pro- 
bably still, a person with whom the deceased has lately 
quarrelled. Whoever the victim is, however, whether man 
or woman, nothing short of his or her life will satisfy the 
bereaved persons. They believe in two ways an evil-disposed 
person may effect his purpose. One is by placing some bad 
medicine in the meat or drink of his victim, or, if sick, by 
persuading the individual to drink a poisonous draught. The 
other way is by magic, and this is by far the most common 
method they suppose. In this case, they say that the deadly 
substance is transmitted from the hand of the destroyer to 
the body of his victim, without the latter having any per- 
ception of the event. * 

" Such superstition as this is well calculated to produce 
that distrust of each other which I find so prominent amongst 
them; and also makes it somewhat dangerous for one to 

u2 



292 DANGER OF WHITES' PRESCRIBING. Chap. XL 

assist them a little with real medicine. I hear that several 
white persons — some of whom are American missionaries — - 
have been murdered for attempting this kindness, all because 
their medicine did not prevent death. There has not been a 
case of that sort among the Indians here yet ; but I see that 
the same superstitions which have led other Indians to 
commit murder are deeply rooted here, so that it behoves one 
to be cautious. I have already given medicine and advice to 
some, which the Lord has been pleased to bless : so that they 
are beginning to gain confidence and appreciate my coming 
amongst them. My efforts in this way have as yet been nearly 
all confined to the Fort people ; but as the Indian women in 
here are generally the most influential in the tribe to which 
they belong, in gaining their confidence a great blow is 
struck at the prejudices of the people outside. 

" If one Indian is vexed with another, the most effectual 
way of showing his displeasure, next to killing him, is to say 
to him (what would be in English), By and by, you will die. 
Not unfrequently the poor victim thus marked becomes so 
terrified that the prediction is verified. When this is the 
case, the friends of the deceased say that they have no doubt 
about the cause, and therefore (if they are able to meet the 
contest which may ensue) the prognosticator, on the first 
opportunity, is shot for his passionate language. 

" The young man named Clah, whom I have had to assist 
me in Tsimshean, only a little time before I came shot a 
woman, because by some silly expression she excited his 
belief that it was owing to her evil influence a piece of wood, 
which was being carried by some Indians, fell from their 
shoulders and seriously hurt one of them, a relative of his. 
Now I hear that this woman's son (although Clah has paid 
him 30 blankets) is watching his opportunity to revenge her 
death. Thus is the stream of murder fed from time to time. 

" In the majority of cases, I think the sick receive a great 
deal of attention from their friends. I have always found 






Chap. XL MOURNING FOR THE DEAD. 293 

one or two nurses to an invalid, if the case was at all bad ; 
the sympathy of the nurses, too, seemed very great. It 
seemed to me, however, that they never thought of washing 
the sick, for nearly all who had been laid up for any length 
of time were literally immured in dirt. If any one suggested 
the propriety of a good wash, they would immediately say 
they had no soap, which amounted to asking one to supply it, 
yet scarcely any are without ample means of purchasing it if 
they would. ^ 

" When a person dies, except in the case of a slave, very 
great lamentation is made by surviving friends. Their 
mourning lasts for several days. A few days ago, I saw a 
poor woman in the bush, at some distance behind the camp. 
She was sitting with her face towards the stump of a tree, 
and continued her bitter wailing for a long time. This is the 
second instance I have seen of this kind. Occasionally, 
mourners may be seen going about the beach. Only lately I 
saw a woman coming away from a house of death. She pro- 
ceeded along the beach to where another tribe is settled, and 
continued her woful cry all the way. Persons whom she 
passed took no notice whatever of her ; it seemed nothing 
strange to them. 

" Soon after death the corpse is conveyed away in a canoe 
to a distant part of the beach, and there burned to ashes. 
Mourners accompany it, and they make the air to ring with 
their piercing cries all the time the body is consuming. The 
ashes are collected and placed in a little house appointed to 
receive them. 

"A slave, after death, is at once placed in a canoe and 
thrown into the harbour, without any sorrow being expressed. 
The Tsimsheeans, I find, believe in two states after death : % 
the one good, and the other bad ; the morally good are trans- 
lated to the one, and the morally bad are doomed to the 
other. The locality of the former they think to be above, 
and that of the latter is somewhere beneath. The enjoyment 



294 NOTIONS OF THE DEITY. Chap. XI. 

of heaven and the privations of hell they understand to be 
carnal. 

" They do not suppose the wicked to be destitute of food 
any more than they were here, but they are treated as slaves 
and are badly clothed. 

" What is very strange, they imagine that as the various 
seasons leave them they advance to the abode of the wicked. 
For instance, when the fish get out of the reach of their nets, 
they .suppose they are then becoming the prey of the wicked 
beneath. 

" The idea they entertain of God is that He is a great chief. 
They call him by the same term as they do their chiefs, only 
adding the word for above — thus, ' shimanyet ' is chief, and 
' lakkah ' above ; and hence the name of God with them is 
Shimanyet Lakkah. They believe that the Supreme Being 
never dies ; that he takes great notice of what is going on 
amongst men, and is frequently angry and punishes offenders. 
They do not know who is the author of the Universe, nor do 
they expect that God is the author of their own being. They 
have no fixed ideas about these things, I fully believe ; still 
they frequently appeal to God in trouble : they ask for pity 
and deliverance. In great extremities of sickness they address 
God, saying it is not good for them to die. 

" Sometimes, when calamities are prolonged or thicken, 
they get enraged against God, and vent their anger against 
Him, raising their eyes and hands in savage anger to Heaven, 
and stamping their feet on the ground. They will reiterate 
language which means ' You are a great slave ! ' This is 
their greatest term of reproach. By far the most prominent 
trait of character in this people is pride, yet many other of 
the corruptions of our fallen nature they exhibit in de- 
plorable measure. Kevenge with them, which is their only 
way of adjusting wrongs, is so dire and determined that 
many years and change of circumstances cannot extinguish 
it. Several instances have been known where it has burst 



Chap. XI. KEVENGE AND PKIDE. 295 

forth in terrible vengeance more than twenty years after its 
birth, and simply because an opportunity to satisfy it never 
occurred before. But, as I said before, pride or conceit is 
the passion they most strikingly exhibit. It is astonishing 
what they will do or suffer in order to establish or maintain 
dignity. Yesterday a young man fell down, and cut himself 
a little with an axe. On arriving home, his father imme- 
diately announced his intention to destroy some property 
which was to save his son from any disgrace attached to the 
accident. When a few people or friends were collected to 
witness the brave act, the father would carry out his vow, 
with no small show of vanity. I hear that instances are 
numerous where persons who have been hoarding up pro-- 
perty for ten, fifteen, or twenty years (at the same time 
almost starving themselves for want of clothing), have given 
it all away to make a show for a few hours, and to be thought 
of consequence." 

I come now to the Indians of the interior, of whom, how- 
ever, I regret to say, much less is known than of those upon 
the coast. 

At and about the entrance of the Fraser Kiver is the 
'Kwantlun tribe : they live in villages which extend along 
the banks of the river as far as Langley. Next to these, and 
extending from Langley to Yale, are the Smess^hillway- 
hook^lPallalts, and Teates — which latter are called by the 
upper tribes Sa-chin-ko. These all appear, from their simi- 
larity of language and customs, to be branches of the 
Kwantlun tribe, although, as usual, their dialects differ con- 
siderably. They have villages placed on the tributary streams 
as well as the main river. The Smess Indians occupy the 
Smess river and lake, and the Chillwayhooks the river and 
lake of that name. In the summer, however, they nearly all 
congregate on the banks of the Fraser Kiver to fish. As 
every village seems to have an old long-standing feud with 



296 INDIANS OF THE INTERIOR. Chap. XI. 

some of their neighbours — which what has been said of their 
revengeful spirit readily accounts for — constant bickerings 
and frequent murders signalise these annual gatherings. 
For these reasons, and to guard against the incursions of the 
coast-tribes for slaves, the permanent villages are all stock- 
aded — a measure which, though more common here than on 
the coast, is sometimes resorted to there, as at Cape Mudge. 
It is a curious fact that, though living in a constant state of 
alarm, no Indians in this country ever keep watch at night. 
To be sure, they always have a number of barking curs 
about the lodges, but these are easily bought over by cun- 
ning foes, with food, &c, and thus their villages have no real 
protection against the night attacks which are sometimes 
made upon them. I have frequently suggested the propriety 
of keeping watch when in my travels we camped near 
strange villages, but never could get them to do it. I be- 
lieve this to be from superstitious dread of spirits, as they 
are not the least afraid to be out at night looking for deer, 
fishing, or stealing. 

Yale is the limit to the wanderings of the above-mentioned ■ 
tribes, and at Spuzzum, a village six miles above the Canon, 
a race very different both in habits and language is found. 
These are the*Nicouta-much or Mcouta-meens, a branch of a 
widely-extended tribe. They, with their cognate septs, the 
At-naks or Shuswap-much, occupy the Fraser Eiver from 
Spuzzum to the frontier of that part of the country called by 
the Hudson Bay Company New Caledonia, which is within a 
few miles of Fort Alexandria (about 330 miles from the 
river's mouth), making the extent of their wanderings about 
250 miles. 
[From Thompson River other septs of this race — the Shu- 
swaps, Skowtous, Okanagans, Spokans, Skoi-el-poi (of Colville), 
Pend'oreilles, and Coeurs d'Aleines — occupy the country as 
far as the Flathead Passes of the Rockv Mountains, where 



Chap. XL ESTIMATED INDIAN POPULATION. 297 

the Sae-lies or Flatheads form the eastern portion of the 
race. The Rocky Mountains on one hand, and an imaginary 
line running east and west 60 to 100 miles south of the 
parallel of 49° N. lat., may be said to define the tract occu- 
pied by these people between the Thompson Kiver and the 
Flathead country.") 

Mr. A. C. Anderson, who has travelled a great deal in this 
country, estimates the number of Nicouta-meen and Shuswap- 
much Indians mustering annually on the Fraser at 6000 or 
8000. He considers that in North- West America, generally, 
there is not more than one man to ten square miles, although 
this population is not by any means distributed evenly over 
the country, which would make it appear more dense in 
those parts best known. This estimate would give an Indian 
population of about 20,000, which I fancy is not far wrong. 

Between the Rocky Mountains, the Upper Columbia and 
its tributary the Killuspehn or Pend'oreille, and watered by 
an intermediate stream called the Kootanais Kiver, is an an- 
gular piece of country peopled by a small, isolated tribe, 
bearing the same name as the last-mentioned river, on the 
banks of which they principally live. Tin's country of the 
Kootanais being very poor, they have to cross the Kocky 
Mountains for the buffalo, and when there they are constant ! y 
attacked, murdered, or driven back by the Blackfeet. Thus 
they are constantly diminishing. Isolated, and speaking a 
language of their own, it is not easy to imagine their origin ; 
but it appears probable that they once belonged to some 
more powerful southern tribe, from which they became cut 
off by the intervention of larger tribes. Mr. Anderson says 
they are brave and possess more than ordinary virtue. 
Their country is very difficult to get at, either by land or 
water, as the Kootanais Kiver is too rapid for navigation, 
and only fordable or passable for horses in spring before the 
melting of the snow, and in the autumn when it is beginning 
to freeze again. In 1848 Mr. Anderson was travelling among 



298 



ESTIMATED INDIAN POPULATION. Chap. XL 



these Indians, and he made his interpreter take a census, 
with the following results : — 





Men. 


Lads. 


Women 

and 

. Children. 


Total. 


Upper Kootanais 

Kootanais who visit Flathead country 
U Lower Kootanais or Arc Plattes 


35 
44 

78 


18 
39 
46 


113 
183 

273 


166 
266 
397 




157 


103 


569 


829 






The number of this tribe, however, is now probably reduced 
to about 500 or 600. 

All the natives of the Upper Fraser are called by the 
Hudson Bay Company, and indeed generally, " Porteurs," or 
carriers, and as I have shown, when speaking of travelling in 
this country, they well deserve the name. It originated from 
their bearing a corresponding designation among their north- 
ern neighbours, the " Beaver " Indians. They (the Beavers) 
call themselves Ta-cully, or Tah-killy, signifying " wanderers 
on the deep." They form the western branch of the great 
Chipewyan tribe, a race whose wanderings extend from Fort 
Churchill on Hudson Bay, and thence far north coterminously 
with the Esquimaux of the coast. 

In 1839 Mr. Anderson estimated the population of this 
northern district of British Columbia, then New Caledonia, 
as follows : — 





Men. 


Women. 


Children. 


Total. 


At M'Leod's Lake 


49 


40 


113 


202 


Ohilcotin 


224 


132 


244 


600 


Alexandria .. .. 


292 


223 


232 


747 


Fort George • . . 


75 


50 


62 


387 


Connolly Lake 


• 28 


30 


87 


135 


Babine Lake 


69 


47 


65 


181 


Fraser Lake 


98 


87 


100 


285 


Stuart Lake 


62 


79 


147 


288 




897 


688 


1040 


2625 



Their number has probably been much decreased since 



Chap. XL SHELL CUKEENCY. 299 

that time, though from the wildness of this region and the 
absence of white men they may have kept up their num- 
bers much better than the tribes nearer the coast have done. 
There is a curious currency used by the Hudson Bay Company 
in trading with these natives, viz. Haiqua shell, which I Have 
mentioned as being worn in the under-lip of the northern 
Coast Indians. This little shell is obtained off Nootka Sound. 
It is found clinging in clusters to the rocks in deep water, 
and is dragged up by the Indians with long poles and hooks. 
They (the Nootkas) sell them to the Company at Fort 
Rupert and other coast posts, and they are sent up to the 
interior to be used as money ; the inland Indians having a 
great partiality for them, and using them in large strings, 
much in the same way, I fancy, as the Eastern North Ameri- 
can Indians use the celebrated wampum-belts. 

Almost all theJtribes mentioned in the above census inhabit 
the country west of the Fraser River, or between it and the 
coast, and they all visit the coast more or less frequently, 
their journeys depending chiefly upon the supply of salmon, 
&c, in their own districts. The routes by which they go are 
as yet little known. Some have been explored lately, and 
one or two by earlier employes of the Hudson Bay and North- 
West Companies, including among their number Sir A. 
M'Kenzie. Of these, however, it will be remembered that I 
have spoken when describing the inlets along the coast, and 
discussing the probability of a practicable route being found 
from the sea to the upper part of British Columbia, from the 
head of some one or other of them. Some of the interior 
tribes spend half their year inland and half at the coast : for 
instance, the '^Loquilt" Indians have their home in the 
winter on Lake Anderson and the surrounding district, 
whence they descend to the coast in Jervis Inlet in the 
summer ; while the Chilcotin Indians spend much of their 
time at Bellhoula in the Bentinck Inlet. 

The natives eastward of the Fraser, viz, the Skowtous r 



300 LOW STATE OF MORALS. Chap. XI. 

Shuswap, Okanagan, &c, own numbers of horses, and are for 
the most part mounted. I have already, while narrating my 
travels in British Columbia, alluded to the feeling of respect 
which the traveller entertains generally towards mounted 
Indians. After being used to the dwarfed natives of the 
coast, whose limbs have assumed almost the shape of the 
canoe that is their constant home, it is startling to come 
among the fine athletic Indians of the interior, and to behold 
the skill and courage with which they manage their half- wild 
horses, and train themselves in the sports of peace for war. 
These tribes, as I have before said, are not addicted to 
slavery as a trade, which probably conduces much to their 
superior moral condition. Virtue is not, however, I fear, 
much more regarded as a principle and motive* of action 
among these poor people than by the Indians of the 
coast, although their comparative seclusion and freedom 
from foreign influences preserve them from that utter 
abandonment of decency which is found near the white 
settlements. I remember discussing this question, when I 
was staying at Fort Kamloops, with an employe of the 
Company, who had been eight or ten years in the country ; 
and he said he had only heard of one instance of an 
Indian woman expressing any other ground for chastity than 
the fear of some man, father or husband. In this solitary 
case, he said, upon the man assuring her that her deeds 
would never be known, she said, " There is One who knows 
everything;" and as she spoke she pointed to the sky. I 
think he said this girl was an Okanagan. Mr. Anderson, 
whom I have before quoted, asserts that these Indians are 
much more virtuous than those of the coast, but from the 
conversations I have had with various traders living among 
them, I am inclined to fear that any difference there may be, 
is, as I have said above, owing to force of circumstances rather 
than to any fixed principle. 

As may readily be supposed, the tastes of these Indians for 



Chap. XI. FOOD AND CLOTHING. 301 

hunting and riding tends to make them less industrious than 
the more sedentary Coast natives, and they are, I believe, less 
provident. Since the discovery of gold, especially, many 
have taken to gold-washing in the summer instead of laying 
by a winter stock, and the result has been that, during the 
severity of winter, they have died of starvation in great num- 
bers. Their principal food is salmon, venison, bear, wild 
sheep, and berries, mosses, and lichens. The principal of 
these latter is the black lichen (L. jubatus), called by them 
Whyelkine, of which I have already spoken. 

Far inland, and occasionally even in the neighbourhood of 
the coast, may still be seen the deer-skin dress, ornamented 
with beads and porcupine-quills, in which Indians are always 
represented in pictures ; but shirts and trowsers are so easily 
obtained, and save so much trouble, that most of the men 
now wear them, while the women use blankets, generally 
white, though sometimes blue or red, and fastened in the 
same way. 

They also make capes of bark, similar to their mats. These 
are generally trimmed with fur round the edge, and go over 
the head like a South American poncho. They only reach 
to the elbows, and are seldom worn except in wet weather. 
Like the Sea-shore Indians, they generally go bare-headed, 
although many may be seen wearing the blue cap with a 
leather peak, commonly used by mariners, and ornamented 
with some feathers or ribbons. Mocassins are much more 
generally worn than at the coast : these are sometimes very 
neatly ornamented with beads, but often they are mere 
pieces of deer-skin laced round the foot. Frequently, how- 
ever, they ride about barefooted, holding the piece of cord, 
which serves both as stirrup-leather and stirrup, between 
the first and second toes. They occasionally wear leggings 
made of cloth, and very prettily ornamented with beads. 
Nearly all use the Spanish wooden saddle, which they make 
with much skill ; and the bridle is a simple cord, often the 



302 FEASTS AND CEEEMONIES. Chap. XL 

hair of the wild sheep, for it cannot be called wool, plaited. 
The middle of this is passed through the horse's mouth, 
and hitched round his lower jaw, and the ends brought up on 
each side of his neck. 

In their huts or lodges, which are similar to those of the 
coast, they have the same mats of cypress or cedar bark. 
Of their feasts and ceremonies I know little : their fashion of 
exchanging presents, however, resembles that of the Coast 
Indians. Their medicine -feasts are also much the same, 
and, like the others, they all wear charm-bags round their 
necks. 

The medicine-bag charm ordinarily worn is small, but on 
feasts and great occasions the chiefs and medicine-men wear 
very large ones. As a rule, nothing can be done without the 
aid of the medicine-men and their mummeries. The bag I 
have spoken of is, I believe, generally made of the skin of 
some animal, bird, or reptile, as the beaver, otter, polecat, or 
weasel ; eagle, magpie, or hawk ; snake, or toad. Anything — 
dry grass, leaves, &c— is stuffed into it, and it is carefully 
sewn up and ornamented. 

Before a young man is admitted to be a man and a warrior, 
he has to get his medicine, which he does, or is supposed to do, 
by roaming about the woods, fasting and praying to the great 
spirit to help him to medicine, much in the same way, though 
to a less extent, as the medicine-men prepare themselves for 
the higher mysteries. His medicine-animal is the first animal, 
bird, or reptile he dreams of during this process ; and, having 
dreamt of it, he immediately kills one, and it becomes his 
medicine for ever. His bag is or should be made of this 
animal's skin ; but there is much trickery in all these matters. 

Among the principal of those medicine-tricks which I have 
omitted to speak of is that of rain-making. In most of the 
valleys in which the Indians live they suffer occasionally 
from want of rain. It constantly pours on the hills around, 
without a drop falling in the valleys. There is nothing for 



Chap. XI. "RAIN-MAKERS." • 303 

which greater credit is got by a medicine-man than being a 
skilful rain-maker. Of course if the clouds do not gather 
or break at once, the rain-makers have only to go on with 
their ceremonies until they will. This they manage to do by 
persuading the others that the Great Spirit is offended ; and 
when they see that rain is at hand, they redouble their 
energies, winding up, when it is on the point of falling, with 
some still more frenzied appeal to the Great Spirit, and 
sometimes, I have been told, shooting an arrow into the cloud 
to burst it, when it is evident the rain is on the point of 
descending in torrents. The Indians never appear to* lose 
their faith in the operator's power, however long he may 
have kept them waiting ; but as all the shrewder men of the 
tribe are or desire to be medicine-men, this is not much to be 
wondered at. 

The children of all these tribes have their heads flattened, 
more or less, and the women carry them in the same curious 
little cradles slung at their backs : these are made, I believe, 
of the bark of cypress, and look like little canoes. The child 
lies at full length, and the sides of the cradle are sufficiently 
high to enable the mother to lace it in by a cord passed from ' 
side to side, a small block being put at one end as a pillow. 
When the mother is travelling she carries the cradle on her 
back in a nearly upright position, with the head just appear- 
ing above her shoulder ; but if she is working, she suspends 
the infant from a pliant branch of a tree, or sticking a pole 
in the ground at a slight angle hangs the cradle, sometimes 
upright, sometimes horizontally, on the end of it. They move 
pole and cradle so as to keep it near them, and every now and 
then give it a swing, so that it rocks up and down. It is said 
that when children die they are often put in some lake or 
pool in their cradles and left to float about them, the natives 
regarding the water as sacred ever after ; but I fancy this is 
more common on the east side of the mountains than the 
west. 



304 MODES OF SEPULTURE, AND DIALECTS. Chap. XI. 

^ Like the Coast Indians, they frequently bury their dead in 
trees, and whenever they are laid on the ground they always 
cover the lid of the coffin with stones. I have heard this 
custom attributed, as I have before said, to some instinctive 
feeling that the dead will rise again ; but I am inclined to 
believe it is only done to protect them from the wild animals 
of the forest. I have seen some coffins also raised on posts, 
six or eight feet above the ground, when there were no trees 
to put them in. I do not think they are ever guilty of bury- 
ing alive, though, as I have said of the Coast natives, they 
are very careless of and cruel to the old men and women 
when they get past work, and will often leave them to starve. 
The dialects of the Indians of the interior are numerous 
as among those of the island and shore. When I was at 
Pavilion, on the Upper Fraser, a man who had been there 
many years, and who had travelled much among them, told 
me that between that place and Alexandria, a distance of 
some 120 miles, there were nine dialects spoken, and that 
these differed so much as to be almost distinct languages. 
It will be many years before much more than this is likely 
to be known of them. Indeed, it is probable, if not certain, 
if the white emigration continues and the colony progresses, 
that, before any opportunity of the kind comes, the tribes 
who use them will have almost, if not entirely, vanished from 
the face of the earth. 






c 



Chap. XIJ. EARLY PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 305 



CHAPTER XII. 

Religious and Educational condition of the Colonies. 

In speaking of the religious and educational condition of 
these Colonies, I purpose to glance shortly at the position 
which the Church of England has already assumed in that 
distant land, dwelling next upon the missionary efforts of 
those who, in carrying the Christian religion to its Indian 
inhabitants, have undertaken labours, and striven success- 
fully through difficulties of no ordinary character. Fore- 
most among these, as the earliest Protestant missionary to 
our possessions in the North Pacific, and the successful 
introducer of education among the neglected Indian children 
of its shores, is that Mr. William Duncan whose name is 
already familiar to the reader of these pages. The journals 
and letters, published and unpublished, of this gentleman 
have been most kindly placed in my hands by the Secretary 
of the Church Missionary Society. And in the following ac- 
count of the religious and educational condition of British 
Columbia and Vancouver Island, it will be found that I have 
used them largely. 

Before 1857 no Protestant missionary had ever traversed 
the wilds of British Columbia, nor had any attempts been 
made to instruct the Indians. At Victoria the Hudson Bay 
Company had a chaplain stationed, but he was devoted 
entirely to the white settlers. I must except the exertions of 
the Roman Catholic priests. If the opinion of the Hudson 
Bay people of the interior is to be relied upon, they effected 
no real change in the condition of the natives. The sole 

x 



306 ROMANIST MISSIONS. Chap. XII. 

result of their residence among them was, that the Indians who 
had been brought under their influence had imbibed some 
notions of the Deity, almost as vague as their own traditions, 
and a superstitious respect for the priests themselves, which 
they showed by crossing themselves devoutly whenever they 
met one. Occasionally, too, might be seen in then lodges, 
pictures purporting to represent the roads to Heaven and to 
Hell, hi which there was no single suggestion of the danger 
of vice and crime, but a great deal of the peril of Pro- 
testantism. These coloured prints were certainly curious in 
their way, and worth a passing notice. They were large, and 
gave a pictorial history of the human race, from the time 
when Adam and Eve wandered in the garden together, 
down to the Reformation. Here the one broad road was split 
into two, whose courses diverged more and more painfully. 
By one way the Eoman Catholic portion of the world were 
seen trooping to bliss ; the other ended in a steep bottomless 
precipice over which the Protestants might be seen falling. 
Upon the more sensible and advanced of the Indians, 
teaching such as this had little effect. I remember the chief 
of the Shuswap tribe, at Kamloops, pointing out to me such 
an illustration hanging on his wall, and laughingly saying, in 
a tone that showed quite plainly how little credence he 
attached to it, " There are you and your people," putting his 
finger as he spoke on the figures tumbling into the pit. 

Of such kind was the only instruction that the Indians had 
received prior to 1857. Its influence was illustrated in that 
year at Victoria, where a Roman Catholic Bishop and several 
priests had been resident for some time, and were known to 
have exerted themselves among the Songhie Indians, who 
reside there. A cross had been raised in then village, and 
some of them had been baptized ; but when these were called 
before the bishop for confirmation, they refused to come unless 
a greater present of blankets was made to them than had 
been given at their baptism. The bishop was said to have 



Chap, XII. THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 307 

been very angry with the priests when this came to his know- 
ledge : he having very possibly been deceived by them as to 
the condition of the Indians. I am informed that he had 
a large heart painted upon canvas, through which he drew a 
blanket, and represented it to the Indians as symbolical of 
their condition. 

Upon H.M.S, 'Satellite' being commissioned in 1856, 
Captain Prevost offered to give a free passage to a missionary 
if the Church Missionary Society would send one. This 
Society, which had been endowed by an anonymous benefactor 
with the sum of 500/. to be devoted to such a purpose, offered 
the work to Mr. Duncan, who had been trained at the 
Highbury College, and who readily accepted it. The 
' Satellite ' sailed in December, 1856, and reached Vancouver 
Island in June, 1857, when Mr. Duncan, whose name is now 
known and beloved by almost every Indian in the two 
colonies, at once prepared to commence his labours. 

After some question with the colonial authorities as to 
where he should begin his work, considerable desire being 
expressed on the Hudson Bay Company's part to place him 
at Nanaimo, it was determined that he should go to Fort 
Simpson on our northern boundary. This spot had been 
previously fixed upon by the Society at home for the scene of 
Mr. Duncan's labours. The Indians there were known to be 
more free from the contagion of the white man, and were 
assembled in larger numbers than at any other place on the 
coast. Another advantage possessed by this locality was that 
at Simpson the trade of the fort brought a great number of 
different tribes together. Indeed the tribe of the Tsim- 
sheeans, among whom Mr. Duncan's labours have been most 
productive of good, had been attracted to Fort Simpson 
from another spot on this account, and had since settled 
there altogether. 

From June till October, 1857, Mr. Duncan found it 
necessary to remain at Victoria, being unable to get a passage 

x 2 



308 MISSION OF ME. DUNCAN. Chai>. XII. 

to Fort Simpson, a distance of 800 miles, until the Hudson 
Bay Company's steamer should proceed thither. This in- 
terval, however, he employed most profitably in learning the 
language of the Indians among whom he was intending to 
reside (the Tsimsheeans), and otherwise in preparing for the 
work before him. 

Upon his arrival at Simpson, Mr. Duncan was, in pursuance 
of orders to that effect given by the Governor, quartered in 
the Fort of the Hudson Bay Company, and one of the smaller 
houses was allotted to him, which was large enough for a 
school, as well as for his dwelling. In the Fort he found 
eighteen men assembled — one Scotch, one English, three 
Sandwich Islanders, and thirteen French Canadians, each 
having an Indian woman living with him. There were also 
seven children, and he was told there were some half-breed 
children scattered about the camp, who, if he pleased, might 
be received in the Fort for instruction. 

On Sunday, the 11th October, he first performed Divine 
service in this the scene of his new and arduous labours, and 
on the 13th he opened school with but five half-breed boys 
belonging to the Fort as pupils, the eldest not five years old. 
Speaking of this he writes, " I am very glad for their sakes 
that they are so young. These I intend to teach in English. 
Their parents seem exceedingly delighted. I did think of 
taking a few half-breed children out of the camp, but I find 
they have been so long abandoned by their fathers that they 
have forgotten every word of English, and become so much 
like the Indians that I shall be obliged to deal with them as 
such." 

A few days after, writing upon the same subject, he says, 
" To-day a chief called, whose principal anxiety was to 
ascertain whether I intended giving dollars to the Indians, to 
get them to send their children to school. I think I shamed 
him a little, at least I tried to do so, for entertaining such 
a selfish notion. I have a good many visitors, and all seem 



Chap. XII. COMMENCEMENT OF HIS LABOUES. 309 

desirous of ingratiating themselves ; some by referring me to 
numerous papers which they bring, obtained in general from 
the Conrpany's officers. These papers, however, rarely say 
more for them than that they are influential men and great 
beggars. Other of my visitors, not blessed with papers, will 
tell me what good hearts they have, and how rich and in- 
fluential they are." I may, in reference to this remark of 
Mr. Duncan, mention that the fashion of producing their 
testimonials to visitors is common among all the Indians. 
You rarely come across one of any importance in his tribe, 
but he produces three or four papers, carefully kept in a box, 
and smelling horribly ; while every Indian who does anything 
for you expects a testimonial as well as payment for his 
services. Of course they do not know what is said of them ; 
and I have had papers shown me that, had their contents 
been known to the bearer, he would have been by no means 
proud of exhibiting. Speaking also of their habit of begging, 
Mr. Duncan says : — " When they beg, which is generally the 
case, I mostly satisfy and always lessen their expectations 
by saying I have not come to trade. This opens a way to 
telling them what I have come to do for them; and in 
every case, as soon as my object is realised, I hear the oft- 
repeated ' Ahm, ahm ' (Good, good), and their faces exhibit 
every expression of joy of which they are susceptible. I 
make a practice of telling all, that I shall expect their assist- 
ance in erecting a school-room outside the Fort as soon as I 
can talk their language a little better. Without exception 
they assent to my proposal ; but whether they will be ready to 
act when the time comes, remains to be seen. I already see 
several difficulties in the way ; their jealousies and feuds are 
not the least. It is a pity we cannot put their sincerity to 
the test at once, but I feel it would not be prudent to do so. 
The winter is at hand, and their long and all-absorbing 
medicine-feasts come with it; besides, I do not yet feel 
possessor of so much of their tongue as such a work would 



310 THE FIEST HOLIDAY. Chap. XII. 

require. However, I hope by the carrying out of what is 
already begun in the Fort, and what I intend yet to com- 
mence, under God's blessing, to keep alive at least, if not 
increase, the desire already awakened around me for instruc- 
tion." 

On many other occasions Mr. Duncan mentions the visits 
of chiefs and others while his school was going on, and of 
the seriousness of their looks when he and his pupils knelt 
in prayer, and the invariable " Ahm, ahm " which followed 
a spectacle so novel to them. But although this approval 
was manifested by so many individuals, it had little or no 
effect on the conduct of the mass ; and the scenes of cruelty 
and horrible murder which he had, and even still has, to 
witness, would daunt the heart of a less brave and earnest 
man. 

The first holiday which he gave his scholars, is thus 
described by him : — " This afternoon (December 9, 1857) I 
assembled my little boys for a breaking-up for a few days. 
They came clean and nicely dressed, with hearts ever so 
joyful. The father of each boy, and another visitor or two, 
were present. We sang several hymns, and I then gave 
each of them a present, and after a little drilling they 
marched away. Their fathers seemed highly gratified. I 
did not let the little fellows read or repeat catechism (both 
of which they can do a little), as they were so excited. Thus 
I feel," he continues, " as though something had been done 
these last two months. May God prosper the small beginning, 
and make it the earnest of a great future harvest." 

Nor had Mr. Duncan confined himself to educational efforts. 
Already his influence for good was being felt by the Indians, 
and men of importance in their tribes had come to him for 
aid and advice. 

" To-day," he writes, " a chief came who is suffering from 
a bad cough, and seems wasting away. He very anxiously 
desired relief ; but it is of no use giving them any medicine 



Chap. XII. HIS INFLUENCE ON ADULTS. 311 

for such complaints, as their habits prevent any good effects 
ensuing. I perceived he wanted to tell me something serious 
by his countenance. Like a man about to take a long 
journey, he seemed gasping for directions about the way. 
Oh ! how I longed to tell him my message, but could not. 
I made him understand that I should soon be able to teach 
them about God, that I had His book with me which I 
should teach from, and my object was to make them good 

and happy His constant response was *Ahm, ahm' 

(Good, good). Upon another occasion the same man asked to 
see ' Shimanyet Lak-kah Shahounak ' (God's book). His 
anxious gaze and sighs showed me how he longed to know 
its contents, while I, too, longed to tell him. Again and 
again I mentioned the name of our Saviour. I could do 
little else." 

Upon another occasion he writes : — " To-clay the chief 
officer came to me while I was busy with my Indian scholars, 
and asked to speak to me privately. I went aside with him, 
and he began telling me that an Indian woman, who is living 
with one of the white men in the Fort, had been treating her 
slave (a poor girl) very unmercifully while we were at Divine 
service yesterday. He wished me to go and speak to the 
woman, for he believed if she was not interfered with the 
slave would be certain to lose her life. At first I objected, 
on account of my inability to speak her language sufficiently ; 
but presently I thought I would go, for I could see that 
although it was necessary to be done, the man who lives with 
her dared not, for peace sake, and the captain dared not, for 
conscience sake, undertake the duty : I accordingly went, 
having first asked the counsel and blessing of God. I found 
her washing clothes, and, although somewhat soured in expres- 
sion, she greeted me with her usual recognition of respect. I 
commenced telling her in English what I had come for, which 
she quickly understood, and hung her head over the washing- 
tub and remained motionless while I spoke. I used as kind 



312 THE FIRST CHRISTMAS DAY. Chap. XII. 

a tone as I could command, and when I had finished I wished 
her good morning; to which she very solemnly responded. 
This evening her husband has been at school, and from him I 
learnt that she had been weeping nearly all the day. Almost 
immediately after school the woman, with tears in her eyes, 
came to see me. Her face told the sorrow that was awakened 
within, and how bitterly she had been mourning. One of the 
men was with me at the time, so I desired him to go away, 
for I saw she wished to unburthen her mind ; but she pre- 
vented him from doing so, wishing to use him as an interpreter. 
Then, with her eyes upon the ground and her heart sobbing 
with grief, she commenced to unfold her feelings : the man 
interpreted. I then explained my mind a little more fully to 
her, hoped she would amend, and then shook hands with her. 
I need hardly say how her countenance brightened, and how 
relieved she seemed when she went away. This was the first 
woman I ever reproved, and she a Red Indian, a heathen, and 
of naturally a proud and haughty temper. The result seemed 
to astonish me. Was it not of the Lord ? I thought how 
much more like a Christian she had acted than many who 
call themselves such would have done." Such scenes show 
how susceptible of improvement these people are. 

Speaking of the first Christmas Day that Mr. Duncan 
passed at Fort Simpson, he writes : — " This day has passed 
off much better than I expected. In the morning we had 
Divine service, when fifteen men and four boys were present 
— the greatest number we have ever had. After breakfast 
(according to usual custom here) the men had each a pint and 
a half of rum served out to them, and therefore I feel not a 
little thankful that so many should have put aside the temp- 
tation and come to service. From two sources I have had an 
account of the wretched way in which Christmas Days have 
been spent, and glad I am to have seen things so orderly and 
quiet to-day. Many have expressed their astonishment at 
the great and sudden change ; but to me it only appears yet 



Chap. XII. LABOUES BEYOND THE FOET. 313 

an outward change, such a one as man is able to effect in and 
by himself. I am waiting and longing for that change which 
only God can effect : when I see this, I will rejoice indeed." 

With the commencement of the new year he began his 
labours among the Indians outside the Fort : — " Though I was 
not in a position to do them much good, still I thought I 
would at least go and see them all, and endeavour to win a 
little of their esteem and confidence." 

" It would be impossible to give a full description," he says, 
" of this my first general visit to the Indians in their houses, 
for the scenes were too exciting and too crowded to admit of 
it. I confess that cluster after cluster of these half-naked 
and painted savages round their fires was to my unaccustomed 
eyes very alarming ; but the reception I met with was truly 
wonderful and encouraging. On entering a house I was 
greeted by one, two, or three of the principal personages with 
' Clah-how-yah,' which is the complimentary term used in the 
trading jargon. This would be repeated several times ; then 
a general movement and a squatting ensued, followed by a 
breathless silence, during which every eye was fixed on me. 
After a little time several would begin nodding and smiling, 
at the same time in a low tone reiterating ' Ahm ahm-ah-ket 
— ahm shimanyet' (Good, good person, good chief). In 
some houses they would not be content till I took the chief 
place near the fire, and always placed a mat upon a box for 
me to sit upon. My inquiries after the sick were always 
followed by anxious glances and deep sighs : a kind of solemn 
awe would spread itself at once. I found forty-seven sick, 
and three in a state of lunacy." 

It appears that the officer in charge here, some years before, 
took an account of the Indians, and very soon after great 
numbers were swept away by measles. Of course the Indians 
attributed the calamity to their being numbered, and upon 
this occasion Mr. Duncan found that they were not free from 
certain superstitious fears : " still in many houses," he says, 



314 DESIRE FOR INSTRUCTION. Chap. XII. 

" tliey told me of the difference they placed upon the motive 
of his visits and mine. Many were inclined to think that the 
very contrary would result from my visit." Poor creatures ! 
when the horrors of illness to them, with no kind of relief, 
no hope, and often the most barbarous treatment by their 
doctors are considered, it is not surprising that they should 
have a superstitious dread of anything that appears likely to 
bring disease among them. I remember once seeing a man 
at a village in Cowitchen with his face frightfully scarred 
by fire, which they told me was applied to burn out the evil 
spirit that was making him ill. 

More than once Mr. Duncan reverts to their desire for know- 
ledge : — " There is one cheering feature connected with this 
people which my visit has prominently shown me, that is, 
they are longing for instruction. The presence of the whites 
and their own visits to the south have shaken their supersti- 
tion and awakened inquiry ; but that is all. There is a 
general belief amongst them that the whites do possess some 
grand secret about eternal things, and they are gasping to 
know it. Tins is the propitious moment. Oh that the people 
of God were awake to their responsibility, duty, and privi- 
lege ! " 

Again, a little later, he says, " My Indian interpreter tries 
every day to lift up the veil a little higher to let me see his 
people. He assures me that the Indians are wanting to hear 
what is good, and are even becoming impatient. They have 
begun to think that the Fort people are monopolizing my 
time and attention in order to keep them in ignorance. An 
Indian, who is very much feared, wanted to see me teach 
a night or two since ; but they would not let him stop in the 
Fort. On going away he said to the officer that he and his 
people wanted to learn to be good, but the Fort people stood 
in the way. The same man told my Indian the other day 
that when he was in his own house he always felt angry and 
wanted to murder somebody, but as soon as he came within 



Chap. XII. THE SCHOOL-HOUSE COMMENCED. 315 

the precincts of the Fort he felt quite good, which change he 
attributed to my being in the Fort. The secret of it is, he is 
mostly in the Fort-yard when I cross to or from breakfast, 
and I always give him a pleasant look and a kind word, and 
these produce what he attributes to magic." 

In the autumn of 1858, Mr. Duncan commenced building 
his school-house outside the Fort, a work in which the Indians 
greatly assisted, providing plank and bark for the roof, to the 
value, he estimated, of at least five pounds. 

" I had," he says, "to go to every house to receive their 
donations, which were presented with a great deal of cere- 
mony and good feeling. Many took boards off their own roof 
to give me, and some even the pieces that formed part of 
their bed." And on November 12th, he writes in his 
journal : — " By Monday next, the 15th, I hope the plastering 
of the school-house will be dry enough for whitewashing, and 
then how glad I shall b% that this troublesome work is over. 
I have had many unforeseen difficulties and vexations to con- 
tend with, but out of them all the Lord has carried me." 

A few days before this he recounts his first night-visit to 
the Indian encampment. 

" Last night was the first time I had ventured out in the 
camp during dark. It was to see a poor dying woman, sister 
to the late head chief. I had seen her three or four times 
before, but could do her no good ; still, as her friends had 
come to the Fort desiring aid, I accompanied them back. 
On arriving at the house, I found the sick woman laid before 
a large fire, round which some twenty Indians were squatted. 
After, administering a little medicine, I began speaking to 
them a few w r ords which the solemn scene suggested. I 
showed them our condition, and only remedy in Jesus our 
adorable Saviour, adding, too, upon what conditions we were 
saved by Him. They all understood what I said, and two of 
the women that sat close at the head of the sick person very 
earnestly reiterated to her my words, and questioned her if 



316 MR. DUNCAN'S PROGRESS. Chap. XII. 

she understood tliem. It was, I think, the most solemn scene 
I have witnessed since I have been here. Before I went 
away, one man said that she and her people did not know 
about God, but they wanted to know, and learn to be good." 

I cannot, perhaps, do better than to allow Mr. Duncan to 
tell, in his own words, the progress of his teaching during the 
winter of 1859. 

" November 16. — I have, these last few days, been making 
some special visits to inform the Indians what are my inten- 
tions and hopes with respect to commencing the school. In 
a few houses I was also enabled to set forth the blessed truths 
of the Gospel. In every house I was attentively listened to, 
and greeted in their warmest way. 

" The season in which the deep heathenism and darkness 
of this people is manifested has just set in. My heart was 
gladdened, however, to-day by the chiefs of our tribe coming 
to my house to say that they had^made up their minds to 
abandon these sorceries, or medicine-work. Since then I 
have heard of another tribe that has made the same reso- 
lution ; and on a visit to an old chief yesterday afternoon, I 
gathered from him that his tribe were meditating the same 
thing. Thus I feel thankful to God that one heathenish 
custom, and that one decidedly the most gross and deeply 
rooted, is tottering, and ready to fall, since three tribes out 
of the nine here have already declared against it. Whenever 
I speak against this medicine-making, as it is called, I am 
sure to be reminded of its long existence as a custom of great 
importance among them. 

" My class of Indians, resident in the Fort, which I have 
been teaching of a night at my house from the black-board, 
have begun reading in books to-night. The books are of my 
own making, and I add a little each day. This measure I 
have adopted more as a stimulant to the Indians outside than 
anything else. When they see these little books, and hear 
their own people read and explain them, I think that a good 



Chap. XII. THE SCHOOL-HOUSE FINISHED. 317 

effect will be produced. Very little things, I have already 
learnt, either done or said among this people, produce effects, 
either for good or evil, in commencing anything new amongst 
them. 

'"I am frequently reminded about the papers which the 
Romish priests have distributed among some Indians, whose 
place is about 150 miles away north of this. The papers were 
given to them while on a visit south, either at Victoria or 
some American port near. 

" The Indians regard such gifts as charms, and wonder, or 
rather have wondered, why I did not treat them similarly. 
An Indian, lately from the south, told me yesterday that the 
priests informed him they intended soon to establish them- 
selves here. This I regard as very probable, especially since 
the priests have heard I am here. 

" Nov. 17. — The school is finished, and oh, how thankful I 
feel ! We have washed the floor, and made all clean and 
tidy, both inside and around to-day. To-morrow the seats 
and desk will be done, and placed in the school, and on Friday 
I begin teaching. 

" After prayer to-night for God's especial blessing, I feel 
greatly strengthened and comforted. I can look my work in 
the face without fear, nay, even with joy , and my plan for 
proceeding in the school is much more clear to me now than 
it has ever appeared before. I will endeavour to lean fully 
upon God, and so move on. He has shown me frequently 
what a thing of nought I am in myself. May He now show 
me what I can be and do while dealing with His strength 
and relying upon His wisdom. 

" Nov. 18. — Fresh trials and fresh mercies to-day. A 
very severe storm awoke me early this morning. After 
breakfast, a man came running to inform me that the roof 
of the school-house was blown off. My heart quailed for 
a moment; but before I had time to get out and look for 
myself, the man returned, saying that the roof had not 



318 OPENING OF THE SCHOOL. Chap. XII. 

gone, and not even the bark had stirred on one side. I 
learnt, too, from whence emanated the untrue and unkind 
report. Many wait for my halting, but the Lord disappoints 
them. When I went to the school, I found that only a slight 
damage had come to one side of the roof; but still the wind 
continued to blow so fiercely, that I was afraid more damage 
might ensue, and it was impossible to go up and mend, or 
prevent the matter. I therefore knelt down in the school, 
and poured out my cries to the Lord who holds the storm. 
I entreated Him to disappoint His enemies, and support His 
lonely and feeble servant. He heard my cry. Before an 
hour had passed the wind had ceased. This afternoon willing 
hearts came forward to assist me. One man gave me a plank, 
mounted the roof to repair the breach, and wanted no remu- 
neration. Several others also carried my seats and desk into 
the school, and waited for no return. 

" Nov. 19. — Through the mercy of God, I have begun school 
to-day. It has been a strange day to me, but the Lord 
helped me through. In the morning I plainly saw that a 
superstitious fear was spreading powerfully among the In- 
dians : crowds wanted to come to school, but who were to be 
the first to venture? Here I reaped the fruit of my few 
weeks' labour in the chief's house during last summer. The 
little flock I had there eagerly enough rushed to the school 
when they saw me coming, and one even gladly mounted the 
platform and struck the steel for me, to call their more timid 
companions to the place. I had arranged to have the chil- 
dren in the morning, and the adults in the afternoon ; but I 
now see reason to change that plan, and have all together, at 
least for a while. My first start was with only fifteen chil- 
dren ; but, before we had finished, we mustered about seventy. 
In the afternoon came about fifty adults, and fifty children. 
I felt it very difficult to proceed with such a company, and 
should have found it much more so, but for the few children 
whom I had already had under training. 



Chap. XII. INCREASE OF ATTENDANTS. 319 

" Both morning and afternoon I finished with an address, 
previously prepared, in their own tongue ; in which I endea- 
voured to show them my intention, their need and condition, 
and also the glorious message which I had come to make 
known, namely, salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God. They were very attentive, and I hope and pray the 
Lord will now begin His work amongst them, to the glory of 
His great name. 

" Nov. 20. — This morning about one hundred children and 
forty adults came. Last night I spoke to the head chief 
about his little girl not coming to school. I had heard that 
she was kept away because it was intended that she should be 
initiated into the medicine-art this winter ; not so much from 
the desire of her parents, but because the tribe, or at least 
part of it, demanded she should. I was told that my inter- 
position would be acceptable. This morning I was glad to 
see that my visit was not without effect ; both the chief and 
his little girl came neat and clean to school. He sat down 
and learnt with the others, and had occasionally something 
to say to the scholars. 

" I am very thankful that I am able to say there is amongst 
the Indians a great stir of opinion against their heathenish 
winter-customs, and four of the tribes out of nine have, 
indeed, cut them off. Those tribes which still adhere to them 
are carrying them on exceedingly feebly ; so much so, that I 
am assured by all whom I speak to about the matter, that 
what I now see is really nothing compared with what the 
system is when properly carried out. They tell me that they 
were afraid to cast the custom away all in one year, but would 
rather that part should do so this year, and the remainder 
next ; so, according to this, I sincerely hope that this is the 
last winter any of these savage practices will be seen. 

" Nov. 23. — Both yesterday and to-day we mustered about 
one hundred children, and from forty to fifty adults at school. 
Every day shows me more and more what a dense mass of 



320 FEELINGS OF THE INDIANS. Chap. XII. 

ignorance I have come into contact with. I have also now 
to meet all the evil reports continually emanating from very 
evil and superstitions persons. Some are watching, I believe, 
for a calamity to arise and explode the work. Others are in 
suspense, hoping we shall succeed, but feel afraid we cannot. 
Some keep a scrutinizing eye over all our movements, and 
when they feel satisfied we have no tricks to injure them, I 
suppose they will countenance us. But we go on, and I am 
glad to hear every day, in contrast with the incessant and 
horrid drumming of the medicine-men, the sweet sound of 
our steel, calling numbers to hear and learn the way of life. 

" On leaving the school this morning, I spoke to a man 
who is of considerable power and influence in the camp, as to 
why he did not send his children to school, and come himself. 
He replied that he was waiting till the Indians had done with 
their foolishness and dancing, which time was not far distant, 
then he would come. * He both wanted himself and his 
children to learn, but would not come yet, as it is not good, 
he said, to mix his ways and mine together. He intended 
soon to give up his, and then he would come to school. This 
afternoon he just dropped in to school simply as a gazer : he 
would join in nothing. Nevertheless, he heard a short ad- 
dress, which I gave in Tsimsheean, and which I hope will 
not be lost to him. It was the first of the Gospel he ever 
heard, for he was not here when I gave my addresses in the 
summer. 

" Nov. 25. — This morning about 140 children, and, in the 
afternoon', about 120. Adults seldom vary from about fifty 
each time. I am glad to see already an improvement in their 
appearance, so far as cleanliness is concerned. I inspect 
them daily. Some few have ventured to come with their 
faces painted, but we have less of it daily. A . good many, 
too, have cast away their nose-rings, yet some come who have 
very large ones in use still. 

" I visited three sick persons to-day, and was able to speak 



Chap. XII. DIFFICULTIES OF THE CONVERTS. $21 

to two about our Saviour. One of them had been very 
anxious to see me ; and when I went, he said he had refused 
to call in the medicine-men to operate upon him, and begged 
very earnestly for me to give him a little of my medicine. 
This is the first instance that has come under my notice, in 
which the power of their medicine-men or women has been 
slighted ; for, as a whole, this people place implicit confidence 
in these lying wonder-workers. 

" Nov. 27. — Last night, after repeating the Lord's Prayer, 
I read to my scholars a prayer which I have written and 
translated. This is the first time they ever heard their 
language arranged for such a purpose. They remained 
serious. This morning we offered up this prayer in their own 
tongue. 

" Nov. 29. — After school-teaching was over this morning, a 
chief remained behind; he had a serious difficulty. His 
people, who had before decided to give up their medicine- 
working, were beginning to repent of their decision. According 
to the chief's statement, they professed themselves unable to 
leave off what had been such a strong and universal custom 
among them for ages. He heard my remarks, and then set 
off, seemingly satisfied that I was right ; and, I hope, in a 
mind determined to hold on in its present improved course. I 
had some talk with another chief to-day, on the same subject 
of medicine-work. He and his people seem stedfast in their 
purpose to cut the abominable system off; still, he says, he 
feels very much ashamed when he comes into contact with 
their chiefs who are carrying it on. 

"I laboured to set before the same old man the way of 
salvation, and he gave me serious attention, and looked eager 
to learn. When speaking of prayer, he asked me how often 
I prayed each day. 

"To-night I visited two houses where there are sick. In 
both I directed the inmates to Jesus as our only Saviour, 
and I was much assisted and comforted. 

Y 



322 OPPOSITION TO THE SCHOOL. Chap. XII. 

" December 1. — I was told to-day, by the manager of the 
Fort, that the head chief of the Indians is going to ask me 
to give up my school for about a month ; his complaint being, 
that the children running past his house to and from school, 
tend to unsettle him and his party in working their mysteries. 
My mind is made up, and my answer ready, if such a request 
is made. 

"After school this afternoon, a chief, who is a regular 
scholar, came to inquire whether I had promised to close the 
school during the medicine-season, as a report to that effect 
was afloat. I see now, that although I have been as careful 
as possible not to give unnecessary offence, yet a storm is in 
the horizon. I must prepare for fierce opposition, and that 
from the chief I had least expected to show it. 

" I had a delightful round to-night. I was in nine houses. 
I found myself able to hold conversation and give instruction 
in the Indian tongue with some freedom, in one house 
especially, which was a chief 's. When I was seen going in, a 
number of his people followed me, and we soon formed a large 
group round the fire. I had some difficulty in commencing ; 
but, when that was overcome, I felt quite at home in 
addressing them. I laid down our condition and remedy 
plainly before them, and exhorted them frequently to amend 
their ways ; I was greatly delighted with the response they 
made. One man held both his hands out before him, and 
then gave them a sudden turn over, exclaiming, ' Thus it was 
going to be with the hearts of the Tsimsheeans soon.' The old 
chief, too, with his eyes upon the ground, listened very atten- 
tively, and after I had begged them to desist from some of 
their bad practices, such as prostitution and rum-drinking, 
he, very chief-like, reiterated to them something of what I 
said. I returned quite cheered at what I had seen and heard. 

" Dee. 8. — I learnt, yesterday, that the head chief had been 
' speaking bad,' as the Indians say, against me. He has been 
exhorting all to have nothing to do with the school ; but. 



Chap. XII. FONDNESS FOR SINGING. 323 

blessed be God, he is too late : his speech had but little 
effect. Indeed, I may say that none bat a few of his own 
tribe took any notice of it : the mass of the Indians are 
disgusted with him for making it, because only a little time 
ago, when I had school in his house, he spoke so much in 
favour of me and my work, and his contradictory speech now, 
without any cause, has only rendered him contemptible. 

" I visited at four houses to-night, and met with grateful 
looks and greetings everywhere. 

"The Indians are exceedingly fond of the singing I am 
teaching them. I have got them to understand the difference 
between sacred and secular music, and they are particularly 
solemn when we sing hymns. They are often telling me 
how they long to be able to sing to God. I hear, too, that 
several Indians have begun to pray before they go to sleep. 
Oh ! that the Lord would manifest Himself to them ! 

" Dee. 10. — It is still very cold, but 130 were present in 
school to-day. 

" Dec. 13. — After school to-night, a medicine-man came to 
ask me for a little English medicine, as he felt himself sick. 
I brought him to my house in the Fort, and talked to him 
for some time about his ways. He excused himself as much 
as possible. I told him not to lie, but tell me truthfully if 
he believed what he had just said, when he frankly confessed 
he did not. 

" Dec. 14. — I bless the Lord for His gracious care of me 
this day. As I went through part of the camp on my way 
to the school, this morning, I met a strong medicine-party 
full in the face ; they seemed ashamed and confounded, but 
I quietly walked on. Their naked prodigy was carrying a 
dead dog, which he occasionally laid down and feasted upon. 
Wlrile a little boy was striking the steel for me at school, 
some of the party made their appearance near the school, I 
imagine, for all at once the boy began to be irregular and 
feeble in his strokes, and when I looked up at him I saw he 

y 2 



324 ENCOUNTER WITH MEDICINE-PARTY. Chap. XII. 

was looking very much afraid. On inquiring the cause, he 
told me the medicine-folks were near ; I told him to strike 
away, and I stood at the door of the school. Some few 
stragglers of the medicine-party were hovering about, but 
they did not dare to interfere with us. When all were 
assembled, and the striking ceased, my adult pupils com- 
menced a great talk ; I had seen, as they came in, there was 
something serious on their minds. After a little time, a 
chief came and told me that the Indians were ' talking bad ' 
outside, by which I understood that the medicine-folks had 
been using more threats to stop us. However, I quickly 
stopped the consultation, and got them on at work ; on 
leaving school I came into contact with the same medicine- 
party which I met on going to school. I almost hesitated 
about proceeding, but the Lord did not let me halt. 

"The medicine-men were ashamed to meet me, and so 
took a short turn. They then became very much scattered, 
some hung behind, the charm seemed broken, and all seemed 
lost. On nearing the Fort, I met one of the most important 
men in the medicine-business, a chief, and father to one of 
the little boys that are being initiated. I spoke to him. He 
stopped, and I then told him how angry God is to see such 
wickedness as he and his party were carrying on; and also 
how grieved I was to see it. He spoke very kindly, and told 
me that if they did not make their medicine-men as they had 
always been used to do, then there would be none to stop or 
frustrate the designs of those bad men who made people sick, 
and therefore deaths would be more numerous from the effects 
of the evil workings of such bad men. I told him if they put 
away their wicked ways, then God would take care of them. 
He did not say much more, except assuring me it was 
the intention of all soon to do as I wished them, but at 
present the medicine-parties must go on. I learnt shortly 
afterwards, from the chief officer of the Fort, that this very 
man and another had just visited the Fort to tell him they 






Chap. XII. THREATS OF THE INDIANS. 325 

would now be content if I would stay school for a fortnight, 
and, after that, they would all come to be taught ; but if I did 
not comply they intended stopping me by force, for they had 
determined to shoot at my pupils as they came to the school. 
I had a long talk to two of the officers about the matter, 
giving them plainly to understand that I did not intend in 
the least degree to heed the threats of the Indians, but go on 
with my work I would, in spite of all. I told them that 
Satan had reigned long enough here ; it was high time his 
rule was disturbed (as it is). I went, of course, to school as 
usual this afternoon ; about 90 pupils were present. After 
we had done, a chief who was present began to address them, 
encouraging them to continue ; after he had done, I began 
to speak on the matter to them. I was afraid I should not 
be able to convey my feelings to them in their own tongue, 
yet, thanks be to God, I was enabled to do so. The effect I 
desired, was produced: they all reassured me of their con- 
tinuing, come what would. 

" After school, as I had several calls to make to see the 
sick, I went out, and found plenty of grateful hearts to 
acknowledge my feeble endeavours for their good ; I was in 
ten houses. Everywhere I hear intimations of the struggle 
that is now going on. Oh ! that the Almighty arm would 
interpose, that this people may be delivered from the chains 
which have so long fettered them. 

" Bee. 20. — This day has been a great day here. I have to 
thank heartily that all-seeing Father who has covered me 
and supported me to-day. The devil and wicked men 
leagued to overthrow me this day, but the Lord would not- 
have it so. I am still alive. 

"This morning the medicine-party who are carrying on 
their work near to the school, broke out with renewed fury, 
because, as they assert, the child of the head chief had just 
returned from above. The little boy that lights my fire 
came in great excitement to tell me that the head chief was 



326 HOSTILE VISIT TO THE SCHOOL. Chap. XII. 

not willing for me to have school to-day, and was anxious to 
know if I intended going ; he seemed greatly amazed at my 
answer. On going to school, I observed a crowd of these 
wretched men in a house that I was approaching. When 
they turned to come out, they saw me coming, and imme- 
diately drew back until I had passed. As soon as I got into 
school, the wife of the head chief came to beg me to give up 
school for a little time : she was certainly very modest in her 
manner and request, but altogether unsuccessful. I spoke to 
her a little, and then she said (what I know to be false) that 
it was not she nor her husband that desired to go on with 
the medicine-work, for they often cried to see the state of 
things, but it was the tribe that urged them to do what they 
were doing. When she saw she could prevail nothing, not 
even so much as to prevent striking the steel, which they 
have a peculiar hatred for, she left me. I then went up the 
ladder and struck the steel myself, as I did not like to send a 
boy up ; very soon about 80 pupils were in the school, and 
we went on as usual. 

"This afternoon, a boy ran to strike the steel, and not 
many seconds elapsed before I saw the head chief approaching, 
and a whole gang of medicine-men after him, dressed up in 
their usual charms. The chief looked very angry, and bade 
the boy cease : I waited at the door until 'he came up. His 
first effort was to rid the school of the few pupils that had 
just come in ; he shouted at the top of his voice, and bade 
them be off. I immediately accosted him, and demanded to 
know what he intended or expected to do ; his gang stood 
about the door, and I think seven came in. I saw their 
point : it was to intimidate me by their strength and frightful 
appearance, and I perceived the chief, too, was somewhat 
under the influence of rum ; but the Lord enabled me to 
stand calm, and without the slightest fear to address them 
with far more fluency, in their tongue, than I could have 
imagined possible — to tell them of their sin faithfully — to 



Chap. XII. VIOLENCE OF THE CHIEF. 327 

vindicate my conduct — to exhort them to leave their bad 
ways, and also to tell them they must not think to make me 
afraid. I told them that God was my master, and I must 
obey Him rather than them, and that the devil has taught 
their fathers what they were practising, and it was bad ; but 
what I was teaching now was God's way, and it was good, 
and that all the Tsimsheeans knew. 

"Our meeting lasted for more than an hour. I saw a 
great many people at a distance looking anxiously at our 
proceedings, the school-door being open, and we stood near 
it. Nearly all my pupils had fled in fear. The chief expressed 
himself very passionately, now and then breaking out into 
furious language, and showing off his savage nature by his 
gestures. Sometimes I pacified him by what I said, for a 
little time ; but he soon broke out again with more violence. 
Towards the close of the scene, two of the confederates, vile- 
looking fellows, went and whispered something to him, upon 
which he got up from a seat he had just sat down upon, 
stamped his feet on the floor, raised his voice as high as he 
could, and exhibited all the rage, and defiance, and boldness 
that lie could. This was all done, I knew to intimidate me, 
but, blessed be God, he did not succeed : finding his efforts 
unavailing, he went off, but not before he had been almost 
deserted by his gang. As he went away, he kept addressing 
those who had been witnesses ; but none seemed to heed 
him or give any encouragement. After this I shut the door, 
and found 16 scholars presently around me, and we com- 
menced work. 

" We had not gone on long before the chief returned to 
the school ; he gave a loud knock on the door with a stick. 
I went to open it, and my pupils began to squat about for 
shelter. When he came in I saw he was in rather a different 
mood, and he began to say that he was not a bad man to the 
white people, but that he had always borne a good character 
with them ; this he could prove by papers containing his 



o2S THE CHIEF'S DENUNCIATION. Chap. XII. 

character, given him by the officers of the Fort. After this 
he despatched his wife in great haste to fetch me the papers ; 
when they came, I read them, and then he soon left us again. 
It was now time to leave school, so we concluded by singing 
a hymn. All appeared solemn, and when they went away 
they wished me good night. 

" The leading topics of the chief's angry clamour I may 
class as follows : — He requested four days' suspension of the 
school ; he promised, that if I complied, he and his people 
would then come to school ; but threatened, if my pupils 
continued to come on the following days, he would shoot at 
them ; — lastly, he pleaded, that if the school went on during 
the time he specified, then some medicine-men, whom he 
expected on a visit shortly from a distant tribe, would shame, 
and perhaps kill him. 

" Some of his sayings during his fits of rage were, that he 
understood how to kill people, occasionally drawing his hand 
across his throat to show me what he meant ; that when he 
died he knew he should go down ; he could not change ; he 
could not be good; or, if I made him good, why then he 
supposed he should go to a different place from his fore- 
fathers : this he did not desire to do. 

" On one occasion, while he was talking, he looked at two 
men, one of them a regular pupil of mine, and the other a 
medicine-man, and said 'I am a murderer, and so are you, 
and you ' (pointing to each of these men), * and what good 
is it for us to come to school ? ' Here I broke in, and, blessed 
be God, it gave me an opportunity of telling the three mur- 
derers that pardon was now offered to them if they would 
repent, and amend, and go to Jesus our Saviour. After 
school I took the opportunity of speaking again to the one 
who comes to the school, setting the mercy and love of God 
before him, and the terms upon which God will now pardon 
and save us. He seemed very solemn, and I hope the truth 
will sink into his heart. 



Chap. XII. SCHOOL HELD IN A CHIEF'S HOUSE. 329 

" After this another chief came to my house, and spoke of 
the difficulties in the way of attending school now, and so 
offered me the use of his house for a school, where the 
children and others would not be afraid to come. I readily 
availed myself of his kindness, and I hope that good will 
arise out of the arrangement. 

"Dec. 21. — I have had school to-day in the chief's house. 
About 100 scholars attended. A medicine-party from a dis- 
tant tribe has arrived to-day, and caused great stir among 
the parties here. In one house to-night, where I dropped in, 
I found about fifteen quietly sitting over the fire, two or 
three of whom were interesting the rest by going over the 
reading-lesson of the day, which they had written on a slate 
I had lent them. 

" Dec. 23. — School as usual in the chief's house, both yester- 
day and to day. 

" I am told that the head chief is still doing, or rather say- 
ing, all he can to hinder my work. Yesterday, at a feast of 
the medicine-parties, he gave a speech full of bitter feeling 
towards us. I hear, too, he is taunting the chief who has 
lent me his house. How all this will end I cannot tell, but I 
leave it with God. 

" Dec. 24. — At the close of school-work this morning I gave 
my audience an address on the coming Christian festival, 
which has hitherto only been distinguishable to the Indians 
as a time of riot and drunkenness among the whites. 

" While in school there was a frightful outburst of the 
medicine-parties, setting the whole of the camp round about 
in a kind of terror. A party were, with their naked pro- 
digy, on the beach when I went out of the school, but on 
seeing me they immediately ran into a house until I got 
past. 

" I hear that the chief of the medicine-party strangers who 
have arrived lately here has proposed to try the strength of 
my medicine, which means he will try how strong I can talk, 



330 CHRISTMAS-DAY. Chap. XII. 

or whether I can resist his strong talk and his imaginary evil 
influence. 

" Dec 25 : Christmas-day. — Yesterday I told my scholars to 
bring their friends and relatives to school to-day, as I wanted 
to tell them something new. I found a strong muster when 
I arrived at the chief's house, and a long train of all ages 
followed me in. We numbered over 200 souls. I felt the 
occasion to be a very important one, and longed to turn it to 
some good account. We did not read as usual, but I tried to 
make them understand why we distinguished this day from 
others. After this I questioned the children a little, and 
then we sung two hymns, which we also translated. While 
the hymns were being sung, I felt I must try to do some- 
thing more, although the language seemed to defy me. I 
never experienced such an inward burning to speak before, 
and therefore I determined to try an extemporaneous address 
in Tsimsheean. The Lord helped me : a great stillness pre- 
vailed, and, I think, a good deal of what I said was under- 
stood. I told them of our condition, the pity and love of God, 
the death of the Son of God on our account, and the benefits 
arising to us therefrom. I then exhorted them to leave their 
sins, and pray to Jesus ; warning them of the consequences if 
they refused, and told them of the good which would follow 
to them on obedience. On hearing me enumerate the sins 
of which they are guilty, I saw some turn and look at each 
other with those significant looks which betokened their 
assent to what I said. I tried to impress upon them the 
certain ruin which awaited them, did they proceed in their 
present vices. Yery remarkably, an illustration corroborating 
what I said was before their eyes. A poor woman was taken 
sick, not four yards from where I stood, and right before the 
eyes of my audience. She was groaning under a frightful 
affliction, the effect of her vices. 

" Dec. 28. — School as usual in the chief's house ; over 150 
pupils on each occasion. One man came to-day to return 



Chap. XII. VISIT TO A SICK INDIAN. 331 

thanks to me for giving him a little medicine, which, he 
says, has been the means of his recovery from sickness. It is 
rather an interesting case to me, because this person is the 
first, so far as I know, who, being dangerously ill, has refused 
to call in the aid of the medicine-folks, from a conviction 
they could do him no good, but only told him lies. Having 
recovered without them, he is making a great talk about it. 

"Dec. 29. — After school to-night I went to take a little 
medicine to a sick man, and found in his house a group of 
Indians of the tribe which have lately sent a party of medi- 
cine-men here to show themselves off. I therefore felt an 
increased desire to set forth the Gospel on this visit, that 
these poor creatures might go back and tell their people 
something of the glad tidings they had heard. Their village 
is about 80 to 100 miles away from here, I think. For some 
time I could not begin ; however, I would not go away, but 
stood musing and praying, my heart burning, but full of mis- 
giving. At last an opportunity was afforded me, and I 
began, and, by God's blessing, I was enabled to set the 
Gospel clearly and fully before them — that is, as to the 
first and essential great truths of it. While I was speaking, 
one or two would make remarks as to the truth and reason- 
ableness of what I said. Several times one man exclaimed 
— ' Ahn radish I alim malsh!' (Good news! good news). 
And another, when I had done, said, * Shimhow? which 
means ' It is true,' and it is equivalent, in their way of speak- 
ing, to ' Amen,' ' I believe.' They all seemed thankful for 
my visit, and I hope the Lord will bless it. I tried to enforce 
the duty of love and obedience to God, by alluding to the 
attachment and obedience they expected from their children. 
To this they agreed, and fully believed the Indians would 
not be long before they would be altogether changed." 

It will be seen from the above that Mr. Duncan's work had 
much increased : feeling that he could not carry it on single- 
handed, he wrote home requesting very earnestly that a coad- 



332 DEMAND FOE ANOTHER MISSIONARY. Chap. XII. 

jutor might be sent to him. About this time a serious difficulty 
began to embarrass him, viz., what was to be done with the 
children who were being taught, when they passed from his 
hands. It was evident to him, and to the Indians them- 
selves, that they and the well-disposed adults among them 
would be far too weak numerically to be able to carry out 
their new principles in their old camp. The necessity of 
transplanting them, therefore, was evident; although how 
such a number could be removed against the wish, probably, 
of many of their parents and the tribe generally, was a 
problem most difficult of solution. 

In it, however, he was not without assistance from some of 
the Indians themselves. In his journal for June, 1859, he 
writes : " Had some talk with a chief, who entreated me to 
beg for another missionary, and to remove the well-disposed 
Indians and their children away to some good land about 
30 miles from here, that they might thus escape the present 
scenes of wickedness." A few days later the same chief came 
again, knowing that Mr. Duncan was writing letters to Vic- 
toria, and again urged his request for another missionary, 
and for a separation to be made in the camp. He said, 
that the Indians were willing to give Mr. Duncan their 
children to teach and bring up as he wished, adding, however, 
that the grown people desired no change. 

With the approach of autumn and the renewal of the 
medicine-orgies among the Indians, Mr. Duncan's difficulties 
recurred. What progress he made, his own words Avill best 
describe : — 

" August 18, 1859. — This morning forty-three children and 
fourteen adults were at school. After the usual lessons, I gave 
them a short address, or rather tried to impress upon them 
the safety of God's people, and the insecurity of the wicked. 
The Lord enabled me to express myself with feeling earnest- 
ness, and disposed my hearers to attention and solemnity. 
Having a good deal of writing to do in the books which I 



Chat. XII. THE SCHOOL BROKEN INTO. 333 

write for my pupils for home lessons, I announced we would 
have no school in the afternoon of to-day. After dinner a 
loud and unusual knock was given at the door. I opened it. 
It was a chief, bringing me the broken lock of the school, 
and the sad intelligence that Cushwaht (a notoriously bad 
man), being drunk, had with an axe broken my door open, 
entered the school, and smashed all the windows. The chief 
then entered into a passionate explanation of the cause of 
this deed, and assured me that Cushwaht stood alone in the 
mischief; not another Indian would have dared or thought 
of such a thing. 

" Very soon several other Indians came — some to bring me 
the utensils of the school, and others to tender their sympathy. 
Thus it has pleased the Lord to permit us to have another 
check; but I trust and pray He will make it administer 
good. This is the explanation. The Indian that did the 
mischief has a bad leg. He sent his wife this morning to 

beg of a little salve for it, but she was unsuccessful. 

refused to assist because of his bad conduct, he having, 

only a few days ago, struck a woman who lives in the Fort 
with a sword, and wounded her severely, and for no cause. 
Being denied the salve, and under the influence of rum, he 
went, Indian like, to revenge himself on what came readiest 
of the white man's property, and that happened to be the 
school. Here is the good providence of God in ordering that 
I and my scholars were not to be in the building when the 
wicked savage was to vent his rage upon it. Had we been 
assembled, T tremble to think what might have been the con- 
sequences. The chief who came to my house to bring me 
the lock, &c, entreated me not to go outside the Fort, as 
the enraged villain might fire upon me ; but I felt assured 
that the Lord would protect me while in the path of duty. 
On seeing me on the beach, several Indians came to speak 
with me, to tender their sympathy, and express their anger 
with the man. I remember an old man saying 'the whole 



334 MURDERS AND RIOTS. Chap. XII. 

camp was crying, and many guns were ready and waiting for 
the villain if he dared to appear.' I entreated them not to 
shed his blood ; said that it was very wrong indeed what he 
had done, but that I was inclined to pity and forgive him. 
One house I had to go to was the next but one to that occu- 
pied by Cushwaht. On approaching it, many thought, pro- 
bably, I was going to see him. They looked very much 
alarmed, expecting, no doubt, that firing would ensue. But on 
seeing me enter the house where the sick person was, many 
followed me, among whom was the wife of the mischievous 
rascal. I never alluded to my own troubles or wrongs, but 
applied myself to the case of the poor invalid, whose state 
was indeed alarming. 

" September 15. — Some sad work has occurred in the camp 
this afternoon. A young man, an Indian, under the influence 
of drink, irritated one of the chiefs, who was also partly 
drunk. The chief immediately seized a pistol, and shot the 
brother of the man who had offended him. Then commenced 
a series of encounters, and two more were killed. The firing 
is going on, and quite close to the school-house. 

" Sept. 19. — Another very serious disturbance to-day. As 
I went to the school-house, to see about repairing it, I ob- 
served that some of the Indians of one tribe were having a 
rum-feast. On nearing the house of the man who broke the 
school- windows (Cushwaht), I saw that his house was the 
point of attraction, and, from what I heard, concluded that a 
good many were already drunk within. I had nothing but 
civility shown me, both in going and returning, although I 
passed some that were drunk. I had only just got back to 
the Fort, when a quarrel took place in Cushwaht's house, 
and Cushwaht himself, as usual, the cause of it. It was not 
long before firing ensued. Two women have been killed, 
one of them Cushwaht's sister, and Cushwaht has been shot 
in the hand. These murders and riots are all tending very 
powerfully to awaken the minds of those who have been 



Chap. XII. SCHOOL RECOMMENCED. 335 

under instruction, and to wean them more and more from 
this place of darkness. I find many flock around me now to 
speak of their trouble, and they listen with much more atten- 
tion and seriousness to the Gospel message. I have been for 
some time desiring to speak to the cannibal chief. To-day 
the opportunity was afforded me, and I had some talk with 
him. This man heads the most degrading superstition this 
people have got; but he is a young man, and has a noble 
look. It will be a hard struggle if he ever sets himself to 
escape from the meshes of that horrid custom which he has 
taken upon himself to perpetuate ; but I hope and pray God 
may give him light and strength for the conflict, and bring 
him, clothed and in his right mind, to the feet of Jesus. He 
met my proposals very kindly, and promised to come under 
my instruction when he returns from a place whither he is 
going to purchase food. 

" Sept. 27. — By the good pleasure of our Heavenly Father 
we began school again to-day. About 50 children and 
10 adults attended. The tide was so high that many had to 
come in canoes. It rained, too, all the day. I saw some of 
my little scholars, washed and with their best clothes on, 
waiting for me outside the Fort, hours before the time ap- 
pointed for opening school, although it rained. 

" Sept. 28. — I put Bibles into the hands of my first class 
to-day. What a blessed event, indeed, when it is remem- 
bered that the entrance of God's Word giveth light ! We 
commenced with St. Matthew's Gospel. 

" October 9th : LoroVs-day. — Only between 40 and 50 souls 
present at school this morning. Many have gone away 
during last week to a place where they usually purchase 
large quantities of provisions. I was enabled, by the blessing 
of God, to introduce a happy change in our usual Sunday 
course. I handed ten of my pupils Bibles, and they read out 
simultaneously, several times over, the passage (Psalm cxlv. 



336 A DEATH-BED SCENE. Chap. XII. 

18-20) from which I addressed them. We also translated 
it, clause by clause, several times over. 

" Oct. 10. — A very solemn event has taken place this even- 
ing. I was informed, on coming out of the school this after- 
noon, that a young man, who has been a long time suffering 
in consumption (brought on by a severe cold), and whom I 
have visited several times, was dying ; so, after a little re- 
flection, some misgiving, and prayer, I started off to see him. 
I found him, as his wife had said, dying. Over 20 persons 
were about him : some were crying, and two, I am sorry to 
say, were partly intoxicated. I looked on for some time in 
silent sorrow. When I wished to speak, silence immediately 
ensued. I rebuked the noise and tumult, and directed the 
dying man to fix his heart on the Saviour Jesus, to forget 
the things about him, and spend his little remaining time in 
praying in his heart to God to save him. His reply was, 
' 0, yes, Sir ! 0, yes, Sir !' and for some moments he would 
close his eyes, and seem absorbed in prayer. On one occa- 
sion he spoke of his heart being happy or resigned. I could 
not make out the exact expression, as there was some talk- 
ing at the time, and the remark was in Tsimsheean. 

"He begged me, with much earnestness, to continue to 
teach his little girl. He wanted her to be good. This little 
girl is about seven years old; her name is Cathl. She has 
been very regular at school since I commenced, and has 
made nice progress. 

"Much to my comfort, a young woman sat by his side 
who has been one of my most regular pupils. She is in the 
first class, and can read portions of the Bible. Her intelli- 
gence is remarkable, and I have observed her to be always 
very serious when listening to religious instruction. Thus, 
here was one sitting close to the dying man who could tell 
him, much more accurately than I, the few directions I 
desired to utter. What remarkable providence it seemed to 



Chap. XII. TEACHABLENESS OF THE INDIANS. 337 

nie ! With tears in her eyes she begged him to give his 
heart to God and to pray to Him. I longed to pray with 
him, and watched anxiously a long time for the opportunity. 
The opportunity came, and the strength came with it. I 
knelt down by his side. All was hushed, and I prayed from 
a full heart to the Lord our God to have mercy upon the 
poor soul about to come into His presence, for the sake of 
His dear Son Jesus. I feel sure that the Lord heard my 
prayer, and I can indulge a hope for this poor man's salva- 
tion. The whole of the circumstances seemed ordered of 
God for my commencing this solemn and important duty of 
prayer with dying Indians. In the case of this poor man, I 
can say I have felt my heart exceedingly rejoiced more than 
once, when I have left him, for what I had been permitted to 
see and hear. I know he understood the main and leading 
truths of the Gospel, and he frequently told me that he 
prayed much to God. During his sickness he never per- 
mitted the medicine-folks to operate upon him; and this of 
itself shows a wonderful change in the man. After I had 
prayed with him he gave me his hand, winch I shook, and 
he bade me good-bye. 

" Oct. 11. — The young man alluded to above died last 
night. He reassured the people around him of his safety, 
and he had a very solemn parting from his little girl." 

This is only one instance of many in winch Mr. Duncan 
found the hearts and intellects of the Indians open to his 
teaching. The labours of men of his class among the distant 
heathen are undervalued by the world, which refuses to credit 
the fact that savages, such as these Coast Indians undoubtedly 
are, can receive and retain impressions so utterly at variance 
with their nature and habits. But the following extracts 
from the journal of one of Mr. Duncan's Indian pupils at Fort 
Simpson — a lad aged 19 — will be read with interest by those 
who believe that the aborigines of these colonies may assuredly 
be Christianised and civilised. From this curious document, 

z 



338 PUPIL'S JOURNAL. Chap. XII. 

which was presented to me by Captain Prevost, B.N., I 
extract the following "passages from the Journal of Shoo- 
quanahts," written after ten months of occasional instruction 
by Mr. Duncan : — 

" Tuesday, April 4, 1860. — -If will die my father, then will 
very poor my heart 4 my brother all die ; only one 
Shooquanahts save ; and two my uncle save. I will try to 
make all things. I want to be good, and I want to much 
work hard. When we have done work, then will please, sir, 
Mr. Duncan, will you give me a little any thing when you 
come back. 

" April 9. — Please, sir, I want to speak to you. I wish 
I had some powder for my gun. All done shot : all done for 
me. What for you want to shoot clucks? Because it is 
very sweet. Please, sir, Mr. Duncan, will you give me a 
little powder and little shot? If you will give me any 
powder, then I will be very happy. If I get some ducks, 
then I will give Mr. . Perhaps no want ducks, Mr. . 

"April 10. — I could not sleep last night. I must work 
hard last night. I could not be lazy last night. No good 
lazy — very bad. We must learn to make all things. When 
we understand reading and writing, then it will very easy. 
Perhaps two years then we understand. If we no understand 
to read and to write, then he will very angry, Mr. Duncan. 
If we understand about good people, then we will very happy. 

April 27 : /School, Fort Simpson. — Shooquanahts not two 
hearts — no always one my heart. Some boys always two 
hearts. Only one Shooquanaht's — not two heart, no. If I 
steal any thing, then God will see. Bad people no care about 
Son of God. When will come troubled hearts, foolish people. 
Then he will very much cry. What good cry ? Nothing. No 
care about our Saviour, always forget. By and by will under- 
stand about the Son of God. 

April 29. — How many ducks you get yesterday ? 5 ducks 
I shoot yesterday. Did you see many ducks yesterday? 



Chap. XII. PUPIL'S JOURNAL. 339 

Yes, very many; not far away, but near. To one man I 
give one duck yesterday, and one duck I eat yesterday. The 
name of that man is Nahs-lukolik. He want to work for you. 
If it rain to-morrow, then we cannot go to Sebassah. If it 
do not rain to-morrow, then we go to Sebassah. 

" 8th May, I860.— The brother of Sebassah is not good, 
* he understand to eat dead people : no good — very bad, that 
man. They understand make lie : no good, those men — very 
bad. Not a good place, Sebassah place : always want to 
steal some little things. They cannot rest ; they love bad 
ways ; they always like to make afraid the people. 

" lUh May, 18G0.— The Shad-Zahu, by and by, will give 
rice at our place, and molasses ; and all the brothers of 
Shad-Zahu will give rice at our place, and two sisters of 
Shad-Zahu will give rice at our place. My father wants to 
make two houses; when he has done making the houses, 
then he will call three chiefs, and all people will sit together 
in the house. My father then will give elk-skins to three 
chiefs, and to all men he will give elk-skin by and by. Per- 
haps two winters first will give little things, and by and by 
he will give more. 

"May 16, 1860. — When you go way Victoria, sir, then 
he will speak to Mr. Compton, sir. Good will tell Mr. 
Compton, sir, to pity me when you go way Victoria, sir. 
Who take care me, sir, when you go way ? who will give the 
soap for me, sir ? who will give the tobacco for me when you 
go way Victoria, sir ? who will give the medicine for me, sir, 
when you go way Victoria, sir ? No, not any will pity me 
when you go way, sir. Good will speak, sir, Mr. Moffat will 
pity me when you go way Victoria, sir. Then will, please, 
sir, Mr. Duncan, will you give me a little medicine and 
little soap ? — not now, sir ; no, when you will go way Vic- 
toria, sir.. Then good will pity me. 

" May 17, 1860. — I do not understand some prayers — only 
few prayers I understand, not all. I understand, no. I wish 

z 2 



340 PUPIL'S JOURNAL. Chap. XII. 

to understand all prayers. When I understand all prayers, 
then I always prayer our Saviour Jesus Christ. I want to 
learn to prayer to Jesus Christ our Saviour, by and by. I 
understand all about our Saviour Christ ; when I understand 
all what about our Saviour, then I will happy when I die. 
If I do not learn about our Saviour Jesus, then I will very 
troubled my heart when I die. It is good for us when we 
learn about our Saviour Jesus; I wish to understand to 
prayer our Saviour Jesus. When I understand about our 
Saviour, then I will very happy when I die." 

In writing of the journal from which I have given the 
above extracts, Mr. Duncan explains : " Last winter, for the 
sake of exercising my first class in composition, I gave each 
of them a copy-book wherein to record their own thoughts in 
their own way, after school-hours. But neither the writers 
nor I ever expected them to be exhibited. I therefore was 
]oth for Captain Prevost to take one away, because several 
entries in it require explanation, or they may give wrong 
impressions. For instance, on one occasion the boy asks, 
' who will give him tobacco,' &c, during my absence. From 
this the reader might infer that I encouraged him to smoke, 
and supplied him with tobacco for that purpose. The fact is, 
that, because the boy worked so hard and pleased me so 
much, I made him one of my school-assistants, also school- 
cleaner, for which I paid him about two shillings a week— 
not in money, but in goods, which he exchanged for pro- 
visions. He, of course, chose the kind of goods for which 
there was then the readiest market." 

I will now quit Mr. Duncan to speak of the progress of the 
Church which had in this year (1859) sprung up in other 
parts of the colony. 

The only clergyman in the colony previous to this was the 
Kev. E. Cudge, Chaplain to the Hudson Bay Company, who 
had been established at Victoria for four or five years. 

Early in the year 1859 four Wesleyan missionaries arrived 



Chap. XII. MISSION OF THE BISHOP. 341 

from Canada and commenced their labours. The head of 
this mission was Dr. Evans, a most zealous man and able 
preacher. He settled himself at Victoria, where he has 
since built a pretty church, which is very well filled. His 
staff were soon disposed of — one going to Nanaimo, another 
to New Westminster, and the third to Fort Hope. These 
men, zealous and active, have been working hard in their 
districts; but their mission, like that of our own Church, 
has been more to the whites than the Indians. 

A missionary of the Church of England, under the auspices 
of the Colonial Church and School Society, had arrived 
previous to this (on Christmas Day, 1858), and established 
himself at what was then the capital of British Columbia, 
New Langley or Derby. In the course of the year the 
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel despatched three 
missionaries, and the Special Fund endowed by Miss Burdett 
Coutts sent two. In addition to this a bishop had been 
appointed (Dr. Hills), who, however, was detained in England 
raising further subscriptions for the mission. Besides these, 
two other missionaries — I am not sure of what denomination — 
arrived about this time. Thus in 1859 eleven missionaries of 
different denominations betook themselves to then- duties in 
various places — some at and around Victoria, others on the 
Fraser Kiver. 

On the 5th of January, 1860, the Bishop reached Esquimalt 
and commenced an organization of his forces, which were soon 
augmented by the arrival of five other clergymen. An 
iron church, which had been sent from England, was 
erected. The expense of its construction was, as may be 
imagined, very large, and the edifice was not free from debt 
when I left the island. 

Among the most pressing needs of the colony were good 
schools for either sex : to this the Bishop's attention was 
immediately directed, and the Bev. C. T. Woods and his 



342 SCHOOL COMMENCED. Chap. XII. 

wife, the Eev. 0. Glover, and the Misses Penrice, left England 
in the summer of 1860 for the purpose of establishing them. 

On the arrival of this staff, a school for boys and a ladies' 
college were immediately organised ; and so earnest and 
zealous were the labours of their promoters, that in the 
winter of that year there were 41 boys and 21 girls in attend- 
ance. The difficulties in the way of starting these schools cannot 
be appreciated by those who have not lived among such a 
mixture of peoples as is found in newly-settled countries, 
each representative of his race clinging with peculiar tenacity 
to its prejudices. The fact of Mr. Glover, the second master 
of the school, being distinguished at home as a Hebrew scholar, 
was, I believe, of no little importance in this way ; for the 
Jews, of whom there are several in Vancouver Island, all sent 
their sons, delighted at the chance of their acquiring Hebrew. 
The great want of the ladies' school for a long time was a 
piano, and I do not know whether it has been since supplied. 

The limited state of the funds of the British Columbian 
Mission proved a serious hindrance to its successful progress. 
Most people in the colony had an idea that Miss Coutts had 
undertaken the whole expense of the mission, church and 
school building, &c. ; whereas her bounty, noble as it was, 
was confined to two objects, viz., a provision of 600?. a-year 
for the bishop, and 4:001. a-year towards the archdeaconries. 
After his appointment the Bishop worked hard to raise money 
in England, and succeeded in obtaining 11,000?. But this 
sum did no more than pay the initiatory expenses, and the 
whole of it was exhausted before 1861 in the payment 
of outfits and passages for clergy, in grants, and in land 
investments.* The annual fund of the mission the bishop 
estimates at 1500?., which suffices merely for the support 
of the clergy and teachers. The clergy of St. John's, Yic- 

* Bishop of Columbia's Speech at Victoria, January, 1861. 



Chap. XII. PAKOCHIAL ORGANISATION. 343 

toria, the iron church spoken of, and Trinity, New Westminster 
— a church built by subscription — were not included in this 
sum, as they were supposed to be supported by their congre- 
gations. The financial state of the latter I do not know ; 
but up to the time I left (September 1861), St. John's was 
still in debt, and its rector had not received any salary at all. 
Those clergy who were sent out by societies have their 
incomes temporarily secured to them to the extent of 1700?. 
a-year, making the support of clergy and teachers in the 
colony amount altogether to about 4000Z. In a speech on 
the subject, delivered at Victoria in January, 18b'l, the 
Bishop proposed that the organisation of a parish primarily 
should include a rector, churchwarden, church committee, and 
vestry — the last consisting of pewholders. Ultimately he 
hoped to have a complete diocesan organisation under one of 
the various titles of Convention, Synod, Assembly, or Council. 
Pending the formation of this, he proposed that there should 
be, as in other colonies, a Church Society, supported by sub- 
scriptions and church collections gathered from all parts of 
the diocese, for the support of ministers, building of churches, 
parsonages, and schools, the aid of widows and orphans of 
clergy, and other objects, and regulated by a committee 
chosen by subscribers. But perhaps of all the Bishop's cares 
and difficulties none pressed more hardly upon him than the 
question what to do with and for the Indians. 

The Songhies, near Victoria, were still living the most 
debased lives imaginable, while the many Indians who visited 
Victoria from the North — and their number increased yearly 
— could scarcely fail to imbibe their habits. Under these 
circumstances, it was but too clear that Mr. Duncan's work, 
far away among the Tsimsheeans at Fort Simpson, was likely 
to be counteracted by the bad lessons which his former pupils 
would learn upon their visits to the South. In the hope, 
therefore, of providing a remedy for this state of things, Mr. 
Duncan was induced to go to Victoria to consult with the 



344 A COADJUTOR FOR MR. DUNCAN. Chap. XIT. 

Governor and Bishop as to the steps that should be taken for 
the Indians' safety. 

Mr. Duncan remained at Victoria during the summer, 
organising the plans decided upon, and continuing his minis- 
trations among such of his old friends, the Tsimsheean 
Indians, who happened to be there. By them and the 
Indians generally the most implicit confidence was placed in 
his good faith and motives. It was very strange to notice 
among these — the fiercest of the Coast-tribes — the childlike 
affection which they displayed towards him, and the thorough 
trust they expressed in his integrity. Speaking of them 
himself, he says : " My duties have kept me from noon till 
night among the Indians. They so appreciate my exertions 
for their temporal welfare, that many have come to receive 
religious instruction who would otherwise have stayed away. 
The Indians are continually coming to me with their troubles, 
and seem very grateful for my assistance. I also succeeded 
in getting several into good places as servants." 

In June, when the Governor returned from British 
Columbia, he at once acceded to the plans submitted to 
him for the benefit of the Indian population, and took the 
necessary steps to carry them into action. At a public 
meeting 60/. was collected for the erection of a school-house. 
The Governor himself made this sum up to 100?., and the 
building was immediately commenced. 

On the 8th August Mr. Tugwell, who had been sent by 
the Church Missionary Society to join Mr. Duncan, arrived, 
and it was determined that they should both go at once to 
Fort Simpson in order that Mr. Duncan might introduce his 
companion to his duties there, and then return to Victoria 
for the winter to superintend the new schools. They accord- 
ingly left Victoria on the 13th, and reached Simpson on the 
21st August. While there, to his great delight, news reached 
him that the Be v. A. C. Garret and Mr. Mallandaine had volun- 
teered to take charge of the Indian schools at Victoria, and 



Chap. XII. SCHOOL EXAMINATION. 345 

that bis return for that purpose was not therefore necessary. 
These gentlemen at once assumed their self-imposed duties, 
and in a short time brought the schools into a highly flourish- 
ing condition. The difficulties which beset their path were 
of course many and great. The example set in tbe Indian 
huts but too often paralysed the school-teaching,- while tbe 
attendance of the children was necessarily often interrupted. 
They were very quick and ready at receiving instruction, 
however; and those visitors who attended the public ex- 
amination in December, 1SC0, were with reason amazed at 
the progress made. The following is Mr. Garret's account of 
this examination :— 

" Dee, 22. — Our examination came off to-day. There were 
157 Indian scholars in the room when the Governor arrived. 
We had the Governor, the Bishop, the Colonial Secretary, 
Chief Justice of British Columbia, and many other influential 
laymen, with all the clergy here who could attend, and Mr. 
Knipe, who arrived yesterday, among the number. We 
began by singing. Then Mr. Mallandaine, the catechist, 
examined them in reading the diagrams, and showed that 
they knew the English names for the various objects, and 
could spell and pronounce them. This, for three months' 
work, was considered very excellent by the Governor and all 
the visitors. After this the most advanced class, who have 
been somewhat longer at school, read in their books, _ and 
satisfied the suspicions of the Chief Justice of British 
Columbia by reading backwards, thus showing they were not 
crammed like parrots, but that they thoroughly understood 
what they had learned. This being over, the copies were 
produced, which elicited universal admiration. One espe- 
cially, the production of a fine young man, who has received 
but one month's schooling in his life, fairly astonished the 
strangers. I send it to you as a curiosity. I then examined 
the various tribes (there were three present, Songhies, 
Haidas, and Tsimsheeans) in the Chinook catechism, which I 



34() MISSION-BUILDINGS PKOJECTED. CuAr. XIT. 

have composed ; and showed that they knew the history of 
the Creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, and the Flood — in 
the Old Testament; and also that they knew about Jesus 
Christ, whose Son He is, and what He did on earth, why He 
died, how long He was dead, where He is now, what we must 
do to be saved, &c." 

Before leaving Victoria, Mr. Duncan had been informed 
that the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Tugwell at Fort Simpson 
must necessarily interfere with his previous position there. 
The three could not expect from the Hudson Bay Company 
the favours that had been granted to him. It was neces- 
sary, therefore, that he should vacate the quarters which 
he had hitherto occupied in the Fort, and that a dwelling- 
house should be built outside its stockade. 

"Thus the time is come," he writes, "when mission- 
buildings are to figure among the poor Indians on this 
dreary coast. And thankful am I to say that I believe 
matters are fully ripe for such a step. Of course we must 
expect many annoyances in thus putting ourselves entirely 
into the hands of the Indians, but I do not anticipate any 
great danger to either our persons or property. The great 
question before us is, where shall we build ? You will have 
seen from my journal that many of the Indians are strongly 
desiring to return to their old villages situated in a lovely 
channel about 15 miles from here, and are anxiously 
waiting for me to lead the way. On my visit to the Eeeth- 
rahilah Indians last spring, I saw these spots, and, in my 
journal accompanying this, I have written a short description 
of them. They are called Met-lah-kah. Therefore the choice 
of a site for our mission premises rests, I think, between the 
neighbourhood of Fort Simpson and Met-lah-kah. I will 
compare the two places, and I think you will agree with me 
that the latter place is decidedly to be preferred. The only 
advantage of Fort Simpson is a negative one — that is, by 
remaining here we shall avoid the trouble of a move. But 



Chap. XI!. QUESTION OF LOCALITY. 347 

the disadvantages are great. The influence of the Fort, and 
the immoralities allowed on board the Company's ships which 
come here, greatly oppose the influence of the mission. 
More than all, the physical character of the country in the 
neighbourhood of the Fort is exceedingly bad, and, to my 
mind, condemns the place at once. One effect. the missions 
must have upon the Indians will be to make them desire 
social improvemement. How necessary, therefore, it is that 
the mission be established where social improvement is pos- 
sible ! But at Fort Simpson it is not possible. First as to 
beach-room. This is essential to the comfort and welfare of 
these Coast Indians, who have so many canoes to take care 
of. But the whole of the beach at Fort Simpson is now more 
than conveniently occupied. And then as to land about this 
place, it is all in such a state that it could not be made avail- 
able for gardens without immense labour, and a calling for 
appliances which the Indians do not possess. 

" Met-lah-kah, however, not only possesses these two essen- 
tials to improving the Indians socially, viz., plenty of beach- 
room and plots of land suitable for gardens, but its channel is 
always smooth and abounds with salmon and shell-fish, while 
its beauty stands in great contrast to the dreary country 
around." Mr. Duncan states, further, that the Company, 
aware of the desire of the natives to return there, had sent 
people to try to find an eligible spot nearer Simpson, and says 
one of them who went as far as Nutlahkah, not only failed in 
finding any other suitable spot, but declared he did not be- 
lieve there was such another in that part of the country. 

"It may be asked," he continues, "why did not the Com- 
pany establish their Fort there ? This is easily explained. 
Twenty-five years ago, when Fort Simpson was built, the 
Company had sailing ships employed up the coast, and the 
passage to the old Tsimsheean village being rather narrow, 
they preferred this, as the entrance to the harbour is wider ; 
but to steamers, the way into Met-lah-kah presents no diffi- 



348 FAILURE OF MR. TUGWELL'S HEALTH. Chap. XII. 

culty. The Indians were induced to leave their ancient 
home for the sake of trading with the Fort ; there is now no 
necessity for their remaining near it for that purpose ; other 
facilities for trading are opening up ; a schooner, not the 
Company's, is at this moment in the harbour, doing a famous 
trade with the Indians : indeed, I may say, that the import- 
ance of Fort Simpson as a central trading-port is gone ; very 
few Indians from other places come here now, as they used 
to do, and fewer will continue to do so ; — everything seems 
propitious and prepared for a move to be made for the social 
welfare of these poor tribes, and surely it is worthy of this 
Mission to be the leader in such a praiseworthy undertaking." 

I have given this extract in full, as it concerns more than 
the mere selection of the spot for the Mission, important as 
that is : it shows the change which is gradually coming over 
those parts of the country uninfluenced by the discovery of 
gold.* This consists mainly in the far greater freedom 
that will be given to the Indians for trading purposes, and 
which will enable them now to live where they please, since 
trade will follow them to their homes, and they will always 
find a market there for anything they have to sell. 

The proposal for the re-settlement of the Indians at Met- 
lah-kah has met with the Governor's entire approval, and I 
believe steps are being taken for its execution. 

After remaining a year at Fort Simpson, Mr. Tugwell's 
health became so seriously affected that he was obliged to 
resign his labours and retire to Victoria. Mr. Duncan, there- 
fore, is again left to labour single-handed. The plan which 
they had purposed carrying out, had they been permitted, 
was, that Mr. Duncan should remain at Simpson, while Mr. 
Tugwell went to Met-lah-kah, built a house there, and drew 
the Indians round him as they left Simpson. This pur- 
pose, however, Mr. TugweH's illness has frustrated; nor 

* Since writing this I believe, however, that gold has been discovered near 
Fort Simpson. 



Chap. XII. NEED OF MORE MISSIONARIES. 349 

can it be carried out until some one is found to take his 
place. There can be little doubt but some earnest worker will 
volunteer his services for the purpose, but the qualifications 
necessary for the task, both physical and moral, are many 
and great. Strong as Mr. Duncan is, his labours have told 
severely upon his constitution. In the spring of last year he 
suffered from repeated attacks of exhaustion, and was com- 
pelled to go to Victoria for change of air and rest. The 
character of man required, indeed, to share his labours, cannot 
be described better than in his own words : — " We want more 
men, but they must be men of a peculiar stamp, simple and 
hearty, hardy and daring, — men who are able and willing 
to endure rough work." 

Before finally quitting the subject of Indians, I will record 
one of those little incidents which offer good evidence of 
moral improvement, and cheer the Missionary's labours. 
Writing in August, 1860, Mr. Duncan, says " I will give one 
instance in proof of my statement just made, that many 
Indians have begun to pray. One night when I was en- 
camping out, after a weary day, the supper and the little 
instruction being over, my crew of Indians, excepting one old 
man, quickly spread their mats near the fire, and laid down 
to sleep in pairs, each sharing his fellow's blanket. The one 
old man sat near the fire, smoking his pipe. I crept into my 
little tent, but after some time I came out again to see that 
all Avas right. The old man was just making his bed, a thin 
bark-mat on the ground ; a little box of grease and a few dry 
salmon for his pillow ; a shirt on and a blanket round him ; 
another bark-mat over (head and all) was to form his bed in 
the open air during a cold dark night in April. When 
everything was adjusted, he put his pipe down and offered up 
in his own tongue this simple little prayer : ' Be merciful to 
me, Jesus ;' then he drew up his feet, and was soon lost to 
view." 

Though I have spoken of the difficulties of the Bishop's 



350 HABITS OF THE WHITE POPULATION. Chap. XII. 

work with regard to money, schools, &c, I have said 
nothing of the disheartening moral condition of the mass of 
the civilized population of these colonies. By far the larger 
portion of the colonists are miners, who, though as yet their 
conduct since they arrived in British territory has been very 
praiseworthy, had previously been living for years in Cali- 
fornia, where the " Almighty Dollar " is the only object of 
worship. Apart from this, the very nature of a miner's life 
tends to ungodliness : he is perpetually roving about, in the 
morning rich, at sunset poor; to-day a gentleman — in the 
American sense of the term — to-morrow a labourer. For 
a few years some perhaps work with the notion of return- 
ing as rich men to their native land ; but during that time 
the many fluctuations of the struggle, and the hard, wild life 
they lead, so unfit them for domestic existence, that, if they are 
fortunate enough to have made money and leave the country, 
they probably spend it all in the first large town they come 
to ; or, reaching home, tire of it in a few months, and return 
to the life which has become second nature to them. These 
miners, as I have before said, are by no means always un- 
educated ; many men of good parentage and education are to 
be found among them, and this very fact renders the inculca- 
tion of religion more difficult than it otherwise would be. I 
am not, of course, speaking of those who, beginning as poor 
men, steadily work their way to competence or wealth, bene- 
fiting themselves, those around them, and the country of 
their adoption, but of those who, so soon as they have made 
two or three thousand dollars, instead of enlarging their 
works, or laying the money by, rush to San Francisco, spend 
it like fools, and return beggared. 

In the few books that have been written about these 
colonies, various remarks have been made on the society of 
Victoria. It would ill become me to pass over without a 
word that society in which I have spent four as happy years 
as any of my life, from which I have always met with the 



Chap. XIL CONDITION OF THE NEGROES. 351 

greatest kindness, and in which it will give me real pleasure 
again to mix if fate should send me to Victoria, That my 
opinion is shared by most of the members of my profession, 
any impartial witness of the social proceedings of the last 
five years will allow ; and if most of the ladies of Victoria 
have not joined that profession, matrimonially at least, it has 
been from no want of invitation on the part of its members. 

I must not omit to mention the African Negroes, several 
hundreds of whom left California when British Columbia 
sprung into life. It is well known to all who have lived 
among Northern Americans that they treat free negroes 
infinitely worse than an Englishman w r ould treat a dog. In 
California neither coloured men nor Chinese are allowed the 
benefit of the laws, such as they are, and their evidence is 
not taken in the courts, so that a black man may be 
murdered in the midst of a hundred other blacks, and if there 
is no white man to impeach the murderer, redress cannot be 
obtained. This feeling was not lessened in the hearts of the 
Americans at Victoria when they found this hated race, that 
they had illused in every way, enjoying precisely the same 
privileges as themselves. The consequence was that on one 
occasion there was a pitched battle in the theatre between 
blacks and whites, in which, I believe, the former came off 
victorious. Then the whites objected to the blacks being 
allowed to go to the same church with them, and actually 
appealed to the Bishop to prevent it. The Bishop w 7 as firm 
in his refusal to do anything of the kind, but I believe many 
stayed away from church in consequence. One of the dis- 
senting ministers from Canada was obliged to leave the 
country for giving the same refusal. The whites all deserted 
his church and went to another who was anti-black, and 
the negroes w 7 ere unable to support their champion. As 
a rule these free negroes are a very quiet people, a little 
given perhaps to over familiarity when any opening for it is 
afforded, very fond of dignity, always styling each other Mr., 



352 • PRESENT STATE OF THE MISSION". Chap. XII. 

and addicted to an imposing costume, in the way of black 
coats, gold studs and watch-chains, &c. ; but they are a 
far more steady, sober and thrifty set than the whites by 
whom they are so much despised. 

The Chinese are also very quiet and harmless. They 
make fair cooks and servants, and where they take to 
digging are generally content to work claims discarded by 
the regular miners ; they do not do much good to the colony, 
however, as they eat little and drink less, and spend little or 
no money in the country. 

I have before said that one or two churches have been 
built since the Bishop's arrival. More are, I understand, 
being erected, and the mission has spread by this time as far 
as Cariboo, which it was the Bishop's intention to visit this 
summer. For any further particulars, however, I refer the 
reader to the Eeport of the Columbia Mission, where all 
the details connected with this most important work will 
be found recorded. 



Chap. XIII. RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY. 353 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Routes to British Columbia — Agricultural Resources of British Columbia and 
Vancouver Island — Natural History — Land System — Roads, Climate, &c. 

In this chapter I propose to treat of the resources of Her 
Majesty's dominions in the Pacific, comprising, as the reader 
already knows, the country between the 49° and 54° 40' 
north latitude and the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Ocean, 
with the islands of the coast comprised in those limits. In 
doing so, I shall speak of the general condition of the country 
and its probable future ; offering, at the same time, an ac- 
count of the various routes by which emigrants may reach it, 
with the approximate cost of each. I shall also have occasion 
to speak of the routes that may hereafter be opened up to the 
great gold-fields of the Pacific. In so doing I shall not hesi- 
tate to avail myself of the information afforded by Parlia- 
mentary papers, the labours of others, and the press; 
selecting from these and more private sources such facts and 
suggestions as my own experience of the country may lead 
me to approve. 

The claims of the Hudson Bay Company to the possession 
of the territory they have so long held by grants from the 
Crown, renewed from time to time through a couple of cen- 
turies, have been so fully discussed in and out of Parliament 
that it is needless for me now to enter upon this subject. I 
think, however, that those who blame the Company's rule 
do not sufficiently consider the vast difficulties with which 
these traders have had to contend. Living, as their assailants 
do, under the protection of British law, they are little capable 
of appreciating the absolute necessity of many apparently 
cruel acts, which however were directly traceable to the 

2 A 



354 HUDSON BAY COMPANY. Chap. XIII. 

instinct of self-preservation. I do not mean for a moment 
to deny that there were acts of cruelty committed by the 
Hudson Bay people, winch even this consideration could 
not justify ; but I do maintain that a handful of white men, 
hundreds of miles away from the protection of their own flag, 
surrounded by a population, among whom were many both 
fierce and treacherous, should not, in common justice, be 
judged by the rules which apply to a more civilised state of 
existence. One of the main charges against the officers of 
the Hudson Bay Company in what was then New Caledonia 
is, that while their lease of the country specified that offences 
above a certain degree should be tried by the Courts of 
Canada, they, instead of sending criminals there, executed a 
species of retaliatory justice themselves. But it was simply 
ridiculous to expect any such slow and awkward machinery 
for the repression or punishment of crime to be used. As it 
was, the Company, under that instinct of self-preservation I 
have before put forward in their defence, appointed the best 
men they had to the charge of their posts, and left them to 
hold their own and maintain law and order among the Indians 
as best they could. No one who has travelled much among 
the natives of British Columbia can fail to be convinced that 
one result of the Company's rule has been that the white 
man is respected by them everywhere. Even the missionaries 
— who complain of the little that has been done during these 
many years for the spiritual welfare of the Indian tribes — 
must admit that but for their familiarity with the traders, 
and the opinion they have thereby gained of the honesty and 
justice of the Englishman generally, their reception would 
be very different to what it now is. 

Again ; the abuse which has been showered upon the long 
and undisturbed monopoly of the trade of these regions 
enjoyed by the Hudson Bay Company would have been 
more deserved had their possession of them been valued or 
envied by others. As it was, the country was unheeded by 



Chap. XIII. INFLUENCE OF THE COMPANY. 355 

emigrants, neglected by the Government, and but for the 
Company's tenure of it, might have fallen into the hands 
of Russia, France, the United States, or any other nation 
that cared to take it. 

The time has undoubtedly come when their pretensions to 
its longer possession should be rightly unheeded. But I think 
it should have been resumed by the English Government with 
thanks for the Company's care of it, rather than with vague 
distrust and suspicion of their past occupation. I for one 
feel convinced that I should have found it impossible to 
travel about British Columbia with the ease and freedom from 
danger which I felt, but for the influence of the Hudson Bay 
Company exerted in my favour. The name of Mr. Douglas, 
as I have more than once said, proved to be a talisman, 
wherever it was mentioned, that secured me respect and help. 
The reports of Captain Palliser show also that the success of 
his three years' exploration in the Rocky Mountains was 
owing, in no small degree, to the influence and assistance 
rendered him by the Company. The following extract from 
one of his despatches will, I think, serve to illustrate this 
sufficiently. One of a deputation of Indians who waited 
upon him, an old chief, spoke thus : — 

"I do not ask for presents, although I am poor and my 
people are hungry. But I know that you have come straight 
from the great country, and we know that no man from that 
country ever came to us and lied. I want you to declare to us 
truthfully what the great Queen of your country intends to 
do to us when she takes the country from the Fur Company's 
people. All around I see the smoke of the white men to 
arise. The Longknives (Americans) are trading with our 
neighbours for their land, and they are cheating and deceiving 
them." 

Who but the officers and men of this much-abused Com- 
pany could have inspired this spokesman of the Indian people 

2 a 2 



356 ROUTES TO BRITISH COLUMBIA. Chap. XIII. 

with the trust in the word of an Englishman which is here 
expressed ? 

Again ; any one who knows the condition of the Indians 
in British Columbia, and will take the trouble to compare it 
with that of the tribes in American territory, must come to 
the conclusion that some salutary influences — wanting there 
— have been at work among them. Scarcely a paper reaches 
Victoria from Oregon or Washington states that does not 
contain an account of some brutal murder of whites by the 
Indians, or some retaliatory deed of blood by the troops of 
the United States. So confirmed, indeed, has their enmity 
become, that what is little short of a policy of extermination 
is being pursued towards the Aborigines. 

But in British Columbia troops have not once been called 
upon to oppose the Indians ; and men of every class, from 
the Bishop on his visitation to the friendless miner, travel 
among them in confidence and unmolested. 

While, therefore, quite prepared to admit that in their 
government of the country the Hudson Bay Company have 
been guilty of sins both of commission and omission, I cannot, 
in common justice, forbear from stating the good they have 
actually accomplished in British Columbia. 

With respect to the routes to British Columbia, there are 
at present five open : — 

1st. By the Koyal West India mail-steamers to Aspinwall, 
across the Isthmus of Panama, and thence by American 
packets to San Francisco and Victoria. 

2nd. By the Cunard steamers to New York, and thence by 
American steamer to Aspinwall ; the rest of this route being 
by the same conveyance as the last. 

3rd. Bound Cape Horn, or through Magellan Straits, and 
thence direct to Victoria by the same ship all the way. 

4th. Across the American continent, from Lake Superior 
or St. Paul's to Bed Biver, and thence over the Bockv 



Chap. XIII. ROUTES TO BRITISH COLUMBIA. 357 

Mountains. Or, perhaps, it would be better to say across 
the continent in British territory, as there are several ways 
by which this may be done. And — 

5th. Across the continent in American territory to Cali- 
fornia, and thence by steamer to Victoria ; or by land to 
Portland, in Oregon, and from there by steamer to Victoria. 

By the first of these routes the total expense of the journey 
may be estimated at 901. for first class, proportionately less 
of course for second and third ; the time occupied, if there 
are no delays on the way, being under six weeks. Adopting 
this route, the traveller may embark at Southampton on the 
1st or 16th of any month, and proceed direct to St. Thomas, 
a passage of 12 or 14 days. At St. Thomas he takes an 
intercolonial steamer, and in four to six days reaches Aspin- 
wall, the port on this side of the Isthmus of Panama. 
Crossing the Isthmus by rail, in 3J hours Panama is reached. 
Here the great drawback to this route is often experienced 
in the fact that there is no certainty of finding a Pacific 
steamer ready to sail, and that very often the traveller has 
to stop at Panama a week or ten days before one starts. 
This delay, of course, adds considerably to the expense of 
the journey, to say nothing of Panama being a most 
unhealthy place to stay in. Arrangements, however, are 
said to be making to remedy this inconvenience. 

The passage to San Francisco occupies 14 or 15 days, and 
on the way the steamer calls at Acapulco for coal. Arrived 
at San Francisco a further delay takes place, and it is some- 
times a week or ten days before the steamer for Victoria 
loaves. Some arrangement has, I believe, lately been 
entered into, however, which has made the line between 
San Francisco and Victoria more regular. 

By the second route the latter half of the journey is the 
same as the first, the difference being that the traveller starts 
by the Cunard steamer from Liverpool for New York. 

At New York the traveller may have to stay a few days, 



358 ROUTES TO BRITISH COLUMBIA. Chap. XIII. 

but this is better than waiting at Panama, and then he goes 
to Aspinwall in a regular line of American packets : the 
great advantage of this line being that it is connected with 
the Pacific Mail Company's steamers to San Francisco, and 
therefore there is no chance of being — unless, indeed, the 
Atlantic packet brings more passengers than the Pacific one 
can carry away — kept eight or ten days on the Isthmus. 

The third route is, by the old way, round Cape Horn, or 
through the Straits of Magellan. The drawback to this is 
the length of the sea-voyage, which may be said to average 
five months, although it has been done in four. The 
Hudson Bay barque, 'Princess Koyal,' has for years made 
a yearly trip out and home, leaving England in the 
autumn, reaching Victoria in January or February, and 
returning home again by the end of June. She still bears 
the palm for quick passages. Captain Trivett, who has com- 
manded her for years, says his great object always is to 
get out well to westward after passing Cape Horn, not caring 
if he have to go somewhat to southward in doing so, by 
which he finds he gains greatly on those who fear getting too 
far westward, and hug the coast rather than stretch far out. 
His quickest passages have been 118 days out and 110 days 
home ; his average of five passages out 133 days. This route 
is by far the cheapest yet open, and indeed may be said to 
be the only one within the reach of the poorer class of 
emigrants. The cost varies considerably, but will get cheaper 
as passengers become more numerous. The Hudson Bay 
Company's charge has always been 701. for first class and 
SOI. for second class. Their charges for freight also have 
always been high also, but vessels are constantly advertised 
to sail by first-rate firms ; and a line of clipper ships of 1200 
tons is announced to carry passengers at more moderate rates. 

The fourth way lies across our own part of the continent. 
This route must be for some time virtually impassable. The 
fate of those emigrants who, deluded by the misrepresenta- 






Chap. XIII. ROUTES TO BRITISH COLUMBIA. 359 

tions of the bubble British Columbian Overland Transit Com- 
pany, started to make a supposed easy journey from St. Paul's 
across the Kocky Mountains, must still be fresh in the recol- 
lection of my readers. The inducements held out by the so- 
called Company, calculated as they undoubtedly were to 
deceive the public generally, could impose upon no one who 
had any practical experience of the country. For instance, 
one of their statements was, that above 1000 carts travelled 
annually along the line they proposed to follow. The impres- 
sion conveyed by this is that these carts crossed the Rocky 
Mountains into British Columbia by the route proposed 
to be taken by the Company; whereas the truth is, that 
they simply trade to the Bed River and the Saskatchewan 
country, and no further. That a waggon-road will some day 
be carried over the passes of the Rocky Mountains that lie 
beyond the Red River settlement, and between that point 
and British Columbia, I have no doubt. It may be, indeed, 
that before very long the whistle of the locomotive will be 
heard among them. But that as yet they are impassable for 
waggons, and that they present great, and at times almost 
insurmountable, difficulty to all save the experienced unin- 
cumbered traveller, the following quotations from the 
reports of Captains Palliser and Blakiston and Dr. Hector 
will, I think, be found to contain conclusive proof. 

It will assist the reader in forming a judgment upon this 
matter if I first give, from the report of Captain Blakiston, 
an account of the passes of the Rocky Mountains by which 
British Columbia may be reached. " In anticipation," writes 
Captain Blakiston, " of the establishment of a continuous route 
through British North America, it is proper here to refer to 
the passes of the Rocky Mountains north of latitude 49°, or, 
in other words, in British territory. There are many points 
at which the chain of these mountains can be traversed ; but 
omitting for the present that known as * Peel's River Pass,' 
within the Arctic circle, and that from Fraser Lake to Pelly 



360 PASSES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Chap. Xlil. 

Banks, at the head-waters of the Youkon in latitude 62°, as 
well as one from Dease's House to Stickeen, and others only 
known to the hardy fur-traders of the far north, we come to 
three : one of which crosses from the Findlay branch of the 
Peace Kiver to Babine River, the northern boundary of the 
province of Columbia ; while the other two, at the very head- 
waters of Peace Biver, in latitude 55° north, connect with 
Fraser Biver at its most northern bend, one of which was 
described, as long ago as 1793, by that intrepid traveller, Sir 
Alexander Mackenzie. The connection with these being, 
however, by water, and rather far north on the east side, I 
shall pass on to enumerate the known passes more to the 
southward, and which may be called the passes to British 
Columbia. In commencing with the North, they stand 
thus : — 

Latitude, 
o / 

" 1. Cowdung Lake Portage, or Leather Pass .. .. 54 ON. 

2. Boat Encampment on original Athabasca portage 53 

3. Howse's Pass .. .. 51 45 

4. Kicking-Horse Pass 51 25 

5. Vermilion Pass 51 10 

6. Kananaskis, or Emigrant Pass 50 40 

7. Crow's-nest Pass 49 40 

8. Kootonay Pass 49 25 

" The first of these connects the head-waters of Athabasca 
Biver with the great fork of the Fraser, and has never been 
used except as a portage between these two rivers. 

" 2. The second is that which, until the last few years, was 
used regularly by the Hudson Bay Company for the convey- 
ance of a few furs, as well as despatches and servants, from 
the east side to the Pacific, by the way of the Columbia 
Biver, and which, from the ' Boat Encampment,' is navigable 
for small craft ; but this, like the first, has not been used in 
connection with any land-route on the west side. 

" 3. The third was probably first used by either Thompson 
or Howse (author of the Cree grammar), who, following up 



Chap. XIII. PASSES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 361 

the north branch of the Saskatchewan, crossed the watershed 
of the mountains to the north fork of the Columbia, and 
thence to its source, the Columbia Lakes, where, striking the 
Kootonay Kiver, he followed it down to the south of 49° 
north. 

" 4. The ' Kicking-Horse Pass,' so named by Dr. Hector, 
crosses the watershed from near the head-waters of the Bow 
Kiver to those of the Kootonay, and may be reached by 
following up either the north or soutli branches of the Sas- 
katchewan by land. 

" 5. While another (see Parliamentary Papers, June 1859), 
the ' Vermilion Pass,' likewise traversed and laid down by Dr. 
Hector during the summer of 1858, occurs also on Bow River 
so near the last-named one, that it is unfortunate that the 
western edge of the mountains was not readied, as it would 
then have proved whether these passes can be of value in 
connection with a continuous route across the country.* 

" 6. The next pass which enters the mountains in common 
with the fifth on Bow Kiver, has been named the ' Kananaskis 
Pass ' (see Parliamentary Papers, June 1859), and was laid 
down by latitude and longitude observations during the 
summer of 1858 by Captain Palliser. This also leads to the 
Kootonay Kiver, passing near the Columbia Lakes. It is 
generally supposed that this pass was only discovered last 
year, but a description of it is to be found in ' An Overland 
Journey Round the World,' by Sir George Simpson, who, 
together with a party of emigrants, 50 in number, under the 
late Mr. James Sinclair, passed through, but not with carts, 
as had been stated,! to the lower part of the Columbia in 
1841, besides which it has been used by other travellers. 
If we are to consider its western extremity to the south of 
the Columbia Lakes, it is a long and indirect route, but as 

* See post, extract from Dr. Hector's report of this. 

t See Evidence before the Select Committee, ' Hudson Bay Question.' 



362 PASSES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Chap. XIII. 

yet it has only been used for following the valley of the 
Kootonay, and thence into American territory. In the event 
of the country west of the Columbia Lakes proving suitable 
for a land-road, this, as well as the previous three, would 
prove available for crossing from the Saskatchewan north of 
latitude 51°. 

"For 100 geographical miles of the mountains south of 
Bow River no pass is at dresent known to exist until we 
come to the Mocowans, or Belly River, a tributary of the 
Saskatchewan, on the branches of which four passes enter 
the mountains — the * Crow-nest,' the ' Kootonay,' the ' Boun- 
dary,' and the ' Flathead.' 

" 7. Of the first of these, we know only that its eastern 
entrance is on the river of the same name, and that it emerges 
in the vicinity of the Steeples, or Mount Deception, while 
neither of the two last are entirely in British territory — 
hence the name of ' Boundary Pass ' for that which has its 
culminating point north of 49°. 

"8. The 'Kootonay Pass,' is the most southern, and, of 
those yet known, by far the shortest in British territory. 

'•'These passes, of which the altitudes are known, do not 
differ greatly ; and I refrain from commenting on their 
relative merits, because before any particular one can he 
selected for the construction of a road, the easiest land- 
route from Hope and the western bend of the Fraser River 
should be ascertained, which, considering the distance, would 
be no very great undertaking. In conclusion, I would only 
remark, that at present no pass in British territory is 'prac- 
ticable for ivlieeled-carriagesr * 

It should be remembered that Captain Blakiston wrote 
this before an overland route was thought of. But he has 
since told me, that during his explorations he came upon 

* ' Blue Book,' June, 18G0, p. 61. 



Chap. XIII. PASSES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 363 

the remains of the waggons of Mr. Sinclair's party upon 
this side of the mountains, the idea of transporting them 
farther having been abandoned at that spot. 

Dr. Hector, the geologist accompanying Captain Palliser's 
expedition, upon reaching the Kocky Mountain house, in the 
most northerly of the passes enumerated above, writes of it 
thus : " The mountain-house is at a distance of not less than 
100 miles from the main chain of the Eocky Mountains, 
which are nevertheless distinctly seen from it as a chain of 
snow-clad peaks. The principal chain is, however, screened 

by a nearer range, distant about 45 miles I made 

an attempt to reach this near range, but failed in forcing a 
road through the dense pine-wood with which the whole country 
is covered." * 

Of the Kananaskis Pass, the sixth of the above list, Captain 
Palliser writes thus : " On the 18th of August I started to 
seek for the new pass across the Kocky Mountains, proceed- 
ing up the north side of the Saskatchewan or Bow River, 
passing the mouth of the Kananaskis River ; five miles higher 
up we crossed the Bow River, and entered a ravine. We 
fell upon Kananaskis River, and travelled up in a south- 
westerly direction, and the following day reached the Kana- 
naskis Prairie, known to the Indians as the place 'where 
Kananaskis was stunned but not killed.' On the 21st we 
passed two lakes about two miles long and one wide. We 
continued our course, winding through this gorge in the 
mountains among cliffs of a tremendous height, yet our on- 
ward progress was not impeded by obstacles of any conse- 
quence ; the only difficulty we experienced was occasioned 

by quantities of fallen timber caused by fires On 

the 22nd August we reached the height of land between the 
waters of Kananaskis River and a new river, a tributary of 
the Kootonay River. Our height above Bow Fort was now 

* Letter to Captain Palliser, June, 8, 1858 ; ' Blue Book,' p. 26. 



364 PASSES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Chap. XIII. 

1885 feet, or 5985 feet above the sea. Next morning we 
commenced our descent, and for the first time were obliged 
to get off and walk, leading our horses down a precipitous slope 
of 960 feet over loose angular fragments of rock. This portion 
of our route continued for several days through dense masses 
of fallen timber, destroyed by fire, where our progress was 
very slow — not owing to any difficulty of the mountains, but 
on account of the fallen timber, which we had first to climb 
over and then to chop through to enable our horses to step 
or jump over it. We continued at this work from daybreak 
till night, and even by moonlight, and reached the Columbia 
Portage on the 27th of August. 

" On September the 6th I started to recross these moun- 
tains by the Kootonay Pass (the eighth upon the above list). 
This is frequently used, but not the general pass of the 
Kootonay Indians, who have a preferable one in American 
territory. 

" On the 7th of September we passed the height of land — a 
formidable ascent, where we had to walk and lead the horses 
for two hours. This is the height of land which constitutes 
the watershed. We encamped for the night in a small 
prairie after making a considerable descent. 

" On the 8th of September our course continued through 
woods and swamps, for about 15 miles, till we reached another 
ascent. This was also a severe ascent, though not so for- 
midable as that of the day previous ; we reached its summit 
about four o'clock through a severe snow-storm (this in Sep- 
tember), the snow falling so fast as to make me very appre- 
hensive of losing the track. We descended that evening, 
and camped on the eastern side, and next day arrived at the 
eastern extremity of the pass. I regret that I cannot give 
the altitudes of this pass, as our barometer was broken by 
one of the horses. It is, however, far from being so favour- 
able as the more northern, by which I entered on Kananaskis 
Kiver, which has but one obstacle, in the height ol land, to 



Chap. XIII. PASSES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 365 

overcome, and where the whole line is free from swamps and 
marshes." * 

Dr. Hector, accompanying the same expedition, in speak- 
ing of the Vermilion Pass (the fifth upon the list), says 
of it : " On the 20th I crossed Bow Biver without swimming 
the horses or unloading the packs, and, after six hours' 
march through thick woods, reached the height of land the 
same afternoon. The ascent to the watershed from the Sas- 
katchewan is hardly perceptible to the traveller who is 
prepared for a tremendous climb, by which to reach the 
dividing ridge of the Eocky Mountains ; and no labour would 
be required, except that of having timber, to construct an easy 
road for carts, by which it might be attained." 

Of the Beaver, or Kicking-Horse Pass (fourth upon our 
list), he says : " The bottom of the valley (that of the Kou- 
tanay Kiver) is occupied by so much morass, that we were 
obliged to keep along the slope, although the fallen timber 
rendered it very tedious work, and severe for our poor horses, 

that now had their legs covered with cuts and bruises 

On the 31st of August we struck the valley of the Kicking- 
Horse Kiver, travelling as fast as we could get our jaded 
horses to go and as I could bear the motion [he had been 
badly kicked by a horse]. On the 2nd Sept. we reached 
the height of land. In doing so we ascended 2021 feet. 
Unlike the Vermilion Eiver, the Kicking-Horse Kiver, 
although rapid, descends more by a succession of falls than 
by a gradual slope. Just before we attained the height of 
land, we ascended more than 1000 feet in about a mile, down 
which the stream leaps in a succession of cascades." t 

I cannot do better than conclude the consideration of this 
question of an overland passage to British Columbia with the 
following extract from the Report of Captain Palliser to the 
Secretary of State for the Colonies, in 1859 : — 

* Letter to Captain Palliser, June 8, 1858 ; « Blue Book,' p. 33. 
t Letter of Dr. Hector, p. 38. 



366 CAPT. PALLISER'S REPOKT. Chap. XIII. 

" In answer to the third query contained in your Lord- 
ship's letter, viz., ' What means of access exist for British 
immigrants to reach this settlement?' I think there are no 
means to be recommended save those via the United States. 
The direct route from England via York Factory (Hudson's 
Bay), and also that from Canada via Lake Superior, are 
too tedious, difficult, and expensive for the generality of 
settlers. The manner in which natural obstacles have iso- 
lated the country from all other British possessions in the 
East is a matter of considerable weight ; indeed it is the 
obstacle of the country, and one, I fear, almost beyond the 
remedies of art. The egress and ingress to the settlement 
from the east is obviously by the Red River valley and 
through the States." 

Further on the same subject Captain Blakiston writes : " In 
answer to the fourth query contained in your Lordship's 
letter, viz., ' Whether, judging from the explorations you 
have already made, the country presents such facilities for the 
construction of a railway as would at some period, though 
possibly a remote one, encourage Her Majesty's Government 
in the belief that such an undertaking, between the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans, could ever be accomplished ? ' I have no 
hesitation in saying that no obstacles exist to the construc- 
tion of a railway from Eed River to the eastern base of the 
Rocky Mountains ; and probably the best route would be 
found in the neighbourhood of the south branch of the Sas- 
katchewan. An amount of capital very small in proportion 
to the territory to be crossed would be sufficient to accomplish 
the undertaking so far; but the continuation of a railway 
across the Rocky Mountains would doubtless require a con- 
siderable outlay. 

"In my letter to Her Majesty's Government, dated 7th 
Oct., 1858, 1 have referred to two passes examined by myself 
and Mr. Sullivan, my secretary, both of which I found prac- 
ticable for horses right across the chain of the Rocky Moun- 



Chap. XIII. CAPT. PALLISEE'S BEPORT. 367 

tains to the Columbia Kiver, and that a small outlay would 
render the more northern one practicable for carts, and even 
waggons. 

" On the return of Dr. Hector from his branch expedition, 
I found he had also crossed the mountains as far as the 
valley of the Columbia Kiver. by the Vermilion Pass, which 
leaves the valley of the Bow Kiver nearer to its source than 
the pass I had myself traversed. In that pass he had 
observed a peculiarity which distinguishes it from the others 
we had examined, viz., the absence of any abrupt step at the 
commencement of the descent to the west, both ascent and 
descent being gradual. This, combined with the low alti- 
tude* of the greatest elevation passed over, led him to 
report very favourably upon the facilities of this pass for the 
clearing of a waggon-road ; and even that the project of a 
railroad by this route across the Kocky Mountains might be 
reasonably entertained." 

Before taking leave of this subject, I think it but right to 
correct another impression which appears likely to mislead 
the public. This is, that the quantity of buffalo on the 
route proposed to be taken by the bubble Overland Tran- 
sit Company is so great as to render it impossible for a 
man, with a gun in his hand to starve. Now, although enor- 
mous herds of buffaloes may be met with — indeed Captain 
Palliser writes of them, "The whole region as far as the 
eye could reach was covered with buffaloes in bands varying 
from hundreds to thousands " — yet it is quite possible for the 
traveller to die of slow starvation and exhaustion without 
seeing one. Dr. Rae, the eminent Arctic traveller, informed 
me that he spent three weeks in these plains with a party of 
gentlemen, and that during that time they saw nothing larger 
than a beaver, and only shot two martens ! 

Again we have seen that Dr. Hector was glacl to travel 

* Kananaskis Pass. 



368 DIFFICULTY OF GETTING MEAT. Chap. XIII. 

21 out of 24 hours for want of food ; and in a letter of 
Captain Palliser, written in the midsummer of 1858, he 
says : " On my arrival at the Bow Fort, I found my hunters 
waiting for me. They had been out in every direction, but 
could not fall in with buffalo. They had also found elk and 
deer very scarce." In the same letter we also find him 
writing: "Owing to the absence of buffalo during the 
winter, my hunters, as well as those belonging to the Fort, 
have had to go to great distances in order to get meat, which 
they obtained in such small quantities, that the Hudson Bay 
Company's officer in charge of this post was obliged to scatter 
the men, with their families, all over the plains in search of 
food. Even Dr. Hector and Mr. Sullivan were obliged to 
leave this post and go to Forts Pitt and Edmonton in order 
to lessen the consumption of meat, of which the supply there 
was quite inadequate. Fortunately, however, the winter 
has been an unusually mild one, otherwise the consequences 
might have been very serious indeed." 

Speaking of the mountains on the west side, Captain 
Palliser also remarks : " The fact is, the knowledge the 
Indians possess of the mountains is very small; and even 
among those said to ' know the mountains,' their knowledge 
is very limited indeed. This is easily accounted for by the 
scarcity of the game, which offers no inducement for the 
Indians to go there." 

Dr. Hector also writes: "While traversing this valley, 
since coming on the Kootanie Kiver, we have had no trail to 
follow, and it did not seem to have been frequented by 
Indians for years. This makes the absence of game all the 
more extraordinary. The only animal which seemed to occur 
at all was the panther. The Indians saw one ; and in the 
evening we heard them calling, as they skirted round our 
camp, attracted by the smell." 

To this testimony of others, I may add my own experience. 
I have travelled 600 miles in British Columbia without seeing 



Chap. XTIF. ROUTE TN AMERICAN TERRITORY. 369 

anything larger than grouse, or having the chance of more 
than half-a-dozen shots at them. I have also had occasion 
to speak of death by starvation among the Indians. This 
has been by no means uncommon of late, since they have 
neglected the culture of their land for the more alluring 
search after gold. If, then, the native of these plains finds it 
impossible to support life upon the wild animals frequenting 
it, what chance, under similar circumstances, could the artisan 
or the peasant, fresh from the loom or plough, be expected to 
have ? 

The last of the routes which I have to consider is that 
across the continent in American territory. A way between 
New York and San Francisco has been for some time open, 
and so regular and speedy is the transmission of mails by it, 
that the American postal subsidy has been taken away from 
the Panama Steam Company, and given to the Overland. 
The traveller by this route proceeds by rail to St. Louis 
on the border of Illinois and Missouri. Thence by stage 
across Missouri to St. Joseph, by the Missouri Kiver to 
Omaha city, and from there across Nebraska and Utah to 
the Great Salt Lake city. From Utah the route passes 
southward of the Humboldt Mountains to Carson city and 
into California. A telegraph now runs along the whole of 
this line, while a stage-coach goes three times and the pony- 
express twice a week — the latter making the journey in 
about seventeen days. The whole distance from New York 
to San Francisco is about 3000 miles, of which 900 are 
travelled over by rail. 

From San Francisco the traveller can reach his destination 
by land through California and Oregon to Portland, and 
thence by steamer to Victoria : or via the Columbia River to 
Walla-Walla and thence through Okanagan across to the 
Thompson River, and so direct to the mines. This route 
across the continent is considered pretty safe, and I know a 

2 B 



370 CHARACTER OF COAST LINE, Chap. XIIT. 

lady who crossed by it ; but the mails are sometimes waylaid 
by Indians, and the passengers murdered or ill-treated. 

Before treating of the mineral resources of British Columbia, 
I will endeavour to describe its physical aspect. The coast 
of British Columbia is fringed with dense forest, some- 
times growing on low ground, but generally covering moun- 
tain-ridges of all shapes, which terminate in numbers of 
irregular peaks shooting up in every possible form and in 
heights varying from 1000 to 10,000 feet. All these ridges 
and peaks have the same general appearance, being composed 
of trappean or granitic rocks and covered with pine-trees to 
the height of 3000 or 4000 feet, and sometimes higher. Here 
and there the constant fires caused by the carelessness of 
the Indians have stripped the branches from all the trees 
on a hill-side, leaving nothing but scorched trunks standing 
on the blackened rock; while in other places they appear 
stripped in the same way from top to bottom of a mountain, 
the whiteness of the trunk, however, forbidding the notion 
of fire. The reason of this phenomenon, which was of frequent 
occurrence in the inlets, caused us much speculation. The 
conclusion arrived at was, that it was caused by a slide of 
frozen snow from the mountain's summit. These mountain- 
ridges are divided at intervals all along the coast by the long 
inlets of which I have before spoken. 

Behind all these minor ranges and inland of the heads of 
the inlets, the Cascade Kange runs nearly parallel with the 
coast, and at a distance of 60 to 100 miles from it, forming 
a barrier but too effectual to shut out intruders into the 
Eldorado that lies beyond it. The highest peak of this range 
is Mount Baker, situated in latitude 48° 44' N. and con- 
sequently upon American territory. Its height is 10,700 feet, 
and it forms a prominent feature in the view from any part 
of the Strait of Fuca or Gulf of Georgia. Though, as I have 
mentioned when describing the inlets of the coast, there is 



Chap. XIII, THE CASCADE RANGE. 371 

usually a valley, sometimes of considerable extent, at the 
head of these sea-arms, the Cascade Mountains, as far as 
explorations have yet been carried, appear always to bar 
approach to the country beyond. Sometimes they recede 
from the coast so much that it is possible to steam 40 or 50 
miles inland ; but in time the mountains are sure to be found 
closing in and barring farther progress. The valley of the 
Fraser Kiver forms the single exception to this rule. Here 
the river has certainly mastered the rocks, and, attacking 
them from the rear, cut itself a devious way to the sea. But 
it has done no more, the rocks so closing in upon its course 
that, as in the canons I have described, there is hardly footing- 
left for a goat along the high precipitous banks. 

These coast-mountains have as yet been imperfectly exa- 
mined, and little therefore is known of their geological 
formation or mineral resources. Dr. Wood, who, it will be 
remembered, accompanied me on my excursion inland from 
Jervis Inlet, says of those we passed on that occasion, " On 
the right side of the upper arm of Jervis Inlet the mountains, 
against whose sides the sea washes, give indications of being- 
composed of porphyritic granite ; the granite rocks generally 
are deeply imbued with copper oxides ; their veins of white 
quartz are frequently seen intersecting the granite. The 
rocks forming the sides of the second inlet, some six or eight 
miles distant, are more rugged and precipitous, and consist 
generally of a strongly micaceous quartzose granite. A 
mountain-stream which we crossed, presented in the granite 
and trap boulders, which formed its bed, singularly rich 
specimens of iron pyrites without any observable indications 
of other metals. Upon another mountainous stream which 
we crossed, I saw the largest boulder of quartz (transported) 
I ever witnessed ; it must have been four or five tons' weight, 
and was deeply stained on one side with oxides of iron/' 
During this journey, I perceived indications of nothing but 

2 b 2 



372 GEOLOGY OF THE COAST. Chap. XIIT. 

trap and granite, with here and there thin veins of quartz. 
Indeed, I may say, that all the inlets surveyed by the 
' Plumper ' presented the same geological characteristics. 
Texhada Island, which lies off the entrance of Jervis Inlet, is, 
however, an exception : nearly the whole of the northern end 
being limestone, mostly blue, but some white and compara- 
tively soft ; the blue being very hard. I found a few small 
outcrops of limestone in the entrance of Jervis Inlet after- 
wards, but they were only thin veins, round which the 
igneous rock had hardened. Clay-slate frequently occurs in 
the inlets, but usually in very small outcrops. I have re- 
marked its occurrence also in the canons of the Fraser Kiver, 
and Lieut. Palmer, R.E. when in the same range (Cascade) 
on the Harrison-Lilloett route, says, "From the cursory 
view I was enabled to take of the general geological character 
of the country, trappean rocks appear to prevail, consisting 
principally of greenstone, dense clay-slate (here and there 
presenting a laminated structure), and compact hornblende. 
The exposed surfaces of the rocks are generally covered 
with felspar, and are occasionally stained red with iron, 
forming an agreeable contrast in the landscape. Quartz- 
veins permeate the clay -slate in many places, of an average 
thickness of one to twelve inches; the formation, in fact, 
would suggest the high probability of metalliferous deposits. 
The mountains rise bold, rugged, and abrupt, with occasional 
benches on their sides, on which are found quantities of worn 
rounded boulders, principally of coarse-grained granite, oc- 
casionally porphyritic. The granite contains golden-coloured 
and black mica in large quantities. The crystals of felspar 
in the porphyritic granite are very numerous, but small. 
The soil appears in many places to have been formed by the 
decomposition of granite, it being light and sandy and con- 
taining much mica. 

"Below the soil is very generally found a white compact 



Chap. XIII. GEOLOGY OF THE COAST. 373 

mass, very hard and approaching to a conglomerate, containing 
pebbles of every description in a matrix of decomposed clay- 
slate. Lime seems wanting even in the conglomerate, and 
I saw no traces of limestone or sandstone all along the 
route, though I understand there is plenty of the former at 
Pavilion.* " 

Along the coast, between Jervis Inlet and Desolation 
Sound, the appearance of the rocks changes somewhat, and 
quartz and slate predominate. 

Speaking of Desolation Sound, Mr. Downie says, " This is 
the first time I have seen pure veins of sulphuret of iron, 
which looks very much like silver. ... I came across a 
number of seams of the same kind; it lies in quartz, the 
same as gold. I have no idea that the gold is confined to 
the Fraser Kiver alone ; and if it can only be found from the 
seaboard, or on the rivers at the head of some of these inlets, 
the country will soon be prospected." At the head of the 
same inlet, he says, " I have seen more black sand here in 
half a day than I did in California in nine years; it looks 
clear and bright, as if it came from quartz." f Seeing it was 
out of the question to proceed farther, we put back, and came 
down along shore, breaking and trying the rocks, finding 
much iron pyrites and sulphuret of iron, but no gold. 

In Knight's Inlet I have mentioned plumbago as having 
been found ; and on Queen Charlotte's Island (which may be 
regarded, in common with the rest of these islands, as chips 
off the coast), gold-bearing quartz and coal. 

Of the geological features of the interior little is yet 
known. Wherever I have been, the same trappean rocks 
predominate as on the coast, except at and around Pavilion, 
220 miles up the Fraser, where limestone occurs in large 
quantities. In the Cariboo district Mr. Nind, the Gold 

* ' Blue Book,' part iii. p. 48, and ' Geographical Journal,' 1861, p. 231. 
f It is in this black sand that the loose gold is usually found. 



374 GEOLOGY OF THE INTERIOR. Chap. XIII. 

Commissioner, gays he has observed " masses of quartz ; " 
and when travelling near the Antler Creek, in the valley of 
which some of the richest diggings occur, he says, " The 
streams I passed were very numerous ; and where it was 
possible, from the falling in of the ice and snow, to observe 
their beds, I noticed the same characteristics of large quartz 
boulders and a kind of slate-rock, covered with red gravel, 
said to bear a close resemblance to the rich auriferous beds 
of the streams of the southern mines of California. 

Of the Semilkameen district, in the southern part of the 
colony, Lieutenant Palmer, K.E., in his Keport quoted 
before, writes : — " The geological character of the several 
districts (Fort Hope and Fort Colville) is throughout very 
uniform, the rocks belonging principally to the igneous and 
metamorphic series. The bulk of Manson Mountain * appears 
to be granite, tipped with slate ; here and there presenting 
particles of white indurated clay, found, on examination, to 
contain fragments of white quartz. 

" This formation may be said to consist of granite, with its 
felspar decomposed and reduced to a state of indurated clay ; 
it extends to the dividing ridge of the Cascades, and partly 
into the valley of the Tulameen. In the latter valley may 
be seen vast masses of white quartz ; in all probability the 
exposed face of the rock, winch, with granite, constitutes a 
large portion of the district, extending into the Semilkameen 
valley. 

" On approaching the summit of the Tulameen range, the 
quartz partially disappears, and is replaced by a species of 
variegated sandstone, in which traces of iron occur. To 
what extent the sandstone prevailed I had no opportunity 
of judging, the weather being snowy while I was there, and 
the rocks, as a rule, imbedded in peaty turf. 

* A mountain a few miles north of Fort Hope. 



Chap. XIII. GEOLOGY OF THE INTERIOR. 375 

" As we leave the Tulameen Mountains, and descend into 
the valley below, indurated clay appears to predominate to a 
considerable extent. This clay varies in character as we 
approach the Vermilion Forks ; a portion I noticed near that 
point being a white silicate of alumina mixed with sand. 
On one specimen which I picked up were the fossil remains 
of the leaves of the hemlock. 

"Further down, in the Semilkameen valley, the clay 
acquires a slaty texture, and becomes stained with iron, to a 
greater or less extent. Blue clay also exists, only, however, 
in small quantities. 

" The mountains bordering the Semilkameen consist chiefly 
of granite, greenstone, and quartz, capped with blue and 
brown clay-slate. The beds of both the Tulameen and 
Semilkameen are covered with boulders of granite, of every 
description and colour ; of greenstone and of trap, and vary 
in form and size. 

" Boulders of the same character prevail on the river- 
bottoms, to a greater or less extent. Like that of most of 
the other explored parts of British Columbia, the geological 
character of this region appears to indicate the high proba- 
bility of auriferous deposits. In the lower portion of the 
Semilkameen, and near the ' Big Bend,' gold was discovered 
shortly after I passed through, by some of the men attached to 
the United States Boundary Commission. Keport pronounced 
the discovery a valuable one, as much as 40 dollars to the hand 
being taken out in three hours, without proper mining-tools ; 
but I cannot speak positively as to the truth of this state- 
ment, neither could I discover whether the place spoken of 
was in British or American possessions. Probability would 
suggest the former. Beyond Osoyoos Lake* I did not 
deem it necessary to pay much attention to the geological 

* A lake in the Okanagan River, which falls just on the boundary line. 



376 GEOLOGY OF THE INTERIOR. Chap. XUI. 

character of the country, the route lying almost entirely in 
American possessions. Suffice it to say that but few features 
of interest presented themselves, and that in no place did I 
see any sign of stratified rocks." 

The only part of the country which can be said to have been 
geologically surveyed, is the neighbourhood of the Harrison 
Lake and the portage which lies between Port Douglas and Lil- 
loett. In the summer of 1860, Dr. Forbes, of H.M.S. < Topaze,' 
undertook this service ; and his Eeport contains, among other 
things, much valuable information as to the existence of silver 
there. Of the Harrison Lake, he says : " At the mouth of the 
stream (on the east side of the lake) and extending on both 
sides along the shore of the lake, were water-worn boulders 
of granitic and quartzose rocks ; gneiss, with garnets ; mica- 
schist, with garnets; pieces of good roofing-slate, together 
with masses of a pure white quartz, containing excellent 
indications of metal. The mountain, the top of which is 
somewhat rounded in its outline, having a flat surface to the 
westward, and a remarkable pinnacle or finger-like rock at 
its immediate base, is composed of trap ; having resting upon 
it, and tilted at a high angle, micaceous, talcose, and horn- 
blendic schists, all highly charged with iron, the oxidation of 
which has produced disintegration of these rocks. At a 
point 500 yards from the mouth of the stream, on its proper 
right bank, a mass of trachytic rock has been erupted, 
shattering the surrounding rocks, itself much shaken and 
shattered; great masses, dislodged by weather and other 
causes, having slipped and rolled to the bottom of the ravine. 

" In this rock, of volcanic origin, was found a mass of 
quartz, of a beautiful white colour, containing good indica- 
tions of silver and copper; which indications proved true, 
for, on assaying a specimen by the reducing process, a 
globule of each of these metals showed itself. The mass 
or vein of quartz dips northerly, beneath the overlying 



Chap. XIII. GEOLOGY OF THE INTERIOR. 377 

trachytic rocks. It is wedge-shaped, the thickness increasing 
with the depth. From it, in all directions, radiate veins of 
quartz ; which, guarded on each side by a fissile rock, of a 
French-grey colour, permeate the mass of trachyte in all 
directions. Those only which run north and south are metal- 
liferous ; the east and west veins, or cross courses, are barren. 
.... I proceeded to examine the veins, seriatim, as they 
radiated from the great central mass. Iiising in a north- 
westerly direction is a quartz-vein, running through or along 
with the fissile rock above alluded to, containing ores of 
silver; and to the right, having the same north-west and 
"south-east direction, about 200 yards above the 'mother 
vein,' a quartz-vein shows itself in the broken precipitous 
face of the continuing trachytic rock. It rims between two 
great bands of French-grey coloured rock, separated from it 
by masses of partially decomposed pyrites; which besides, in 
a band about three inches in thickness, accompanies the 
quartz-vein throughout its course. 

"Besides these masses and bands of iron pyrites, masses of 
a dark-green chlorite rock occur; and nodules containing 
Bulphuret of silver are clearly discernible, both in the vein 
itself and the rock through which it passes. 

" Following the ravine, and at the same time ascending, I 
found, at an elevation of about 600 or 700 feet, another 
quartz-vein, of the same character, dipping in the same direc- 
tion, and belonging to the same system ; and, from the nume- 
rous angular fragments of quartz and quartzose rocks ever} r - 
where scattered about, I believe there are numerous other 
veins, which I had not time to look for or explore. I worked 
into the quartz- matrix and its ramifying veins, and satisfied 
myself of the existence of silver at this spot, which, however, 
will require somewhat extensive mining-operations to procure 
in paying quantities. The geological character of this loca- 
lity affords a good type of the general formation of the whole 



378 GEOLOGY OF THE INTERIOR. Chap. XIII. 

eastern side of the lake, and may here be briefly described 
as a region of primary, metamorphic, and volcanic rocks, 
crossed and recrossecl by trappean dykes and veins, and 
seams of metalliferous quartz and quartzose rocks. The 
primary and igneous rocks, which form the central axis of 
the mountain-range, have on their flanks transverse ridges 
and spurs of trappean rock, bedded and jointed ; resting on 
which, at various angles, lie the metamorphic schistose rocks, 
which, again broken through, disturbed, and shattered by 
successive intrusions of volcanic rock, have in many instances 
undergone a second metamorphosis, and show an amorphous, 
crystalline structure, accompanied by segregation of metal* 
into the permeating veins."* 

Speaking of the country that lies farther up the lake, he 
says : " The great mass of debris in all the slips was composed 
of plutonic, trappean, and quartz rocks ; all of them full of 
beautiful groups and strings of crystals of iron pyrites, both 
massive and in cubes, and all possessing good indications of 
the proximity of valuable mineral." 

Of the road between Douglas and Lilloett, he observes : 
" The argentiferous rock is of a pale-blue colour, with masses 
and strings of quartz running through it. Sulphuret of silver, 
argentiferous pyrites, and some specks of gold, were to be 
seen along with iron pyrites in cubes and masses. The vein 
runs through trap, which, when in contact with the vein, is 
of a trachytic character. Great volcanic disturbances have 
taken place, numerous faults existing in the trappean range, 
which runs in parallel ridges north and south, slips and slides 
having taken place in the planes of bedding ; and the bluff 
in which this metalliferous rock is found appears to be the 
result of a great slip from the boundary range of the valley 
on its eastern side." Of the whole way to the Hot Springs 

* ' Blue Book,' part iv. p. 33. 



Chap. XIII. GEOLOGY OF THE INTERIOR. 379 

on the Douglas road, 23 miles from Port Douglas, he says : 
"The geological formation is trap of various characters in 
reference to its crystallization and bedding; in some cases 
both these characteristics very perfect, in others less so. 
Metamorphic rock, altered and disturbed by its intrusion, 
permeating quartzose veins, in some cases metalliferous, in 
others not so, run through the whole formation. Near the 
Hot Springs an erupted granite-rock, having a highly crys- 
talline trap on both flanks, occurs, which extending eastward 
has relation to the granitic rock developed in the argentiferous 
formation at Fort Hope, if indeed it be not the same. 

" Trap rises in lofty precipices on the western side of the 
river (Lilloett River), and continues on the east, resting on a 
rocky range of white-coloured stone, winch, on examination, 
proved to be a siiicious rock, containing a few indications of 
copper. The formation on the western side of the river indi- 
cates that these veins (quartz) pass along a ravine winch dips 
to the river-bed, under which they pass to rise again. The 
most promising vein is a quartzose mass, 6 feet in thickness, 
bedded in and running along with a siiicious rock, having 
masses and fragments of talcose schist in the immediate 
vicinity. The quartz contained strings of sulphuret of silver, 
and is, I believe, the outcrop of a valuable mine." * 

Summing up these indications, Dr. Forbes remarks : " The 
elevation of all these ranges is due to the action of volcanic 
forces, causing, in the first place, in this north-west and 
south-east line, a slow and gradual upheaval of the primary 
and igneous rocks composing the crust of the earth. Then, 
as these forces increased in intensity, upheavals and dis- 
turbances of the mountain masses occurred, both generally 
and locally, until the geographical features of the country 
assumed their present aspect, viz. great mountain-chains, 

* 'Blue Book,' part iv. p. 39. 



380 COAL-MEASURES. Chap. XIII. 

running north-west and south-east, having, at right-angles to 
their axis of elevation, trappean rocks running east and west 
in transverse spurs and ridges. Besting on these spurs, tilted 
by them at various angles, are detached and broken masses 
of metamorphic rock of various kinds, such as clay-slate, 
micaceous, hornblendic, talcose, and chlorite schists, all per- 
meated by dykes and veins of erupted rock, which, in many 
instances, have changed the metamorphic rocks at the points 
of contact into amorphous semi-crystalline masses." 

I have before mentioned the discovery of coal at other 
places than Nanaimo, where it is now worked. All the 
north end of Vancouver Island, indeed, contains coal-mea- 
sures, and some quantity has been taken out a little way to 
the northward of Fort Kupert. The specimens we had on 
board when we were there were considered quite equal to 
Nanaimo coal, and the Indians brought some from the main- 
land opposite, which was also very good. In 1859, coal was 
found in Coal Harbour, Burrard Inlet, and we took six bags 
from the outcrop there, upon the quality of which the en- 
gineer reported very favourably. It is no exaggeration, 
indeed, to say that coal exists all along the shores of both 
colonies; and, when any of the inlets become of sufficient 
importance to make the work remunerative, there is no doubt 
it will be found in working position and sufficient quan- 
tities. At Nanaimo the seams have lately been tested by 
bores with the most satisfactory result; and, quite lately, 
it has been found close to the water's edge on one of 
the islands 40 or 50 miles north of that place. In the begin- 
ning of last year, Mr. Nicol, the manager of the coal-mines 
at Nanaimo writes : " We have got the coal in a bore nearly 
5 feet thick. I have now fully proved 1,000,000 tous. 
A shaft 50 or 52 fathoms deep will reach the coal; dip, 
1 in 7 ; a very good working seam. I have no doubt there 
is another seam underlying this one, of an inexhaustible 



Chap. XIII. CHARACTER OF THE COAL. • 381 

extent. I have got the outcrop inland, and, from dip to 
strike, I am sure it is about 30 fatlioms below ; so that by 
continuing the same shaft, if necessary, another larger seam 
containing millions will be arrived at ; but the first seam will 
last my life, even with very large works. With about 5000/. 
or 8000/. I could get along well, and start a business doing 
from 60,000 to 100,000 tons a year. The price is 25s. to 
28s. alongside the ship." 

It will give a better idea of the comparative cheapness of 
this coal if I say that at San Francisco the Nanaimo coal sells 
from 12 to 15 dollars (21. 8s. to 3/.), while the cheapest good 
English coal cost, when I was there, 20 dollars, or 4:1. a ton, 
and it had been worth more than that. At Panama the U. S. 
frigate ' Saranac ' had to lay in some coal, and paid 35 dollars 
(7/.) a ton for it. I happened to be in San Francisco later, 
when the same vessel came there to be docked. The coal 
was taken out to lighten the ship, and it was so bad and 
dusty that it was not considered worth taking on board 
again. 

Mr. Bauermann, the geologist of the Boundary Expedition, 
says of the Nanaimo coal : " Two seams of coal, averaging 6 
or 8 feet each in thickness, occur in these beds, and are 
extensively worked for the supply of the steamers running 
between Victoria and Fraser Biver. The coal is a soft black 
lignite, of a dull earthy fracture, interspersed with small 
lenticular bands of bright crystalline coal, and resembles 
some of the duller varieties of coal produced in the South 
Derbyshire and other central coalfields in England. 

" In some places it exhibits the peculiar jointed structure, 
causing it to split into long prisms, observable in the brown 
coal of Bohemia. For economic purposes these beds are 
very valuable. The coal burns freely, and yields a light 
pulverescent ash, giving a very small amount of slag and 
clinker." * 

* ' Geological Society's Journal, I860,' p. 201. 



382 NANAIMO COAL COMPANY. Chap. XIIT. 

These beds were first brought to notice in 1850 by the 
Indians bringing some coal to one of the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany's agents. This was found on Newcastle Island, in the 
harbour, and they said they had seen the same on the main- 
land. It proved to come from the outcrop of the Douglas 
seam, which was afterwards found to cross the harbour to the 
island mentioned, where some of the best coal is now taken 
out. Since its discovery it has been worked by a Company 
known as the Nanaimo Coal Company, which, however, was 
really under the management of the Hudson Bay Company's 
officials. Quite recently, however, a new Company has been 
formed, who have purchased good-will, stock and fixtures. It 
is to be hoped that better fortune will attend this enter- 
prise. Strange enough, whatever else than furs the Hudson 
Bay Company meddle with appears almost invariably to 
prove a failure. They mismanaged affairs at Nanaimo, 
certainly. Good and expensive machinery was sent and 
fixed, but sufficient capital to work it was not forthcoming ; 
so that the managers were impeded at the outset and, not 
enabled to develop the resources of the place. 

The greatest objection to the Nanaimo coal is its dust and 
dirt. It burns well, however, and H.M.S. 'Satellite' was 
able to get better steam with it than with any other coal. 
We used it constantly in the ' Plumper ' for four years with- 
out having any other reason of complaint than the dirt arising 
from it. One of the originators of the new Company which 
has taken these mines assures me that one valuable quality 
of this coal is its adaptability for making gas. At San Fran- 
cisco and in Oregon it is preferred for this purpose to any 
other coal, on account of its being so highly bituminous. It 
may be remarked, that the deeper the workings at Nanaimo 
are carried the better the quality of the coal becomes. 

The natural resources of British Columbia, however, 
independently of its mineral wealth, are such as to make it 
well worthy of the consideration of agricultural settlers. 



Chap. XIII. "ROLLING COUNTRY" OF THE INTERIOR, 383 

After the Cascade Kange is passed, or from Lytton upwards, 
the country assumes an entirety different aspect from that 
of the coast. The dense pine-forests cease, and the land 
becomes open, clear, and in the spring and summer time 
covered with bunch-grass, which affords excellent grazing fur 
cattle. Although this country may rightly be called open, 
that word should not be understood in the sense in which an 
Australian settler, for instance, would accept it. There are 
no enormous prairies here, as there, without a hill or wood 
to break the monotony of the scene far as the eye can 
reach. It is rather what the Californianfl term "rolling 
country," broken up into pleasant valleys and sheltered by 
mountain-ridges of various height. These hills are usually 
well clothed with timber, but with little, if any, undergrowth. 
The valleys are generally clear of wood, except along the 
banks of the streams which traverse them, on which there is 
ordinarily a sufficiency of willow, alder, &c, to form a shade 
for cattle. The timber upon the hills is very light, com- 
pared with its growth upon the coast ; indeed, there is nothing- 
more than the settler requires for building, fuel, and fencing. 
Several farms are now established in different parts of the 
country. I have mentioned one at Pavilion in the account of 
my journey there, and since there have been greater facilities 
for obtaining land many others have, I believe, been started. 
Mr. McLean, wdio was in charge of Fort Kamloops, when I 
visited it, has since left the Company's service, and culti- 
vates a farm near the Chapeau Eiver. He has been many 
years' in the country, and at Kamloops carried on consider- 
siderable farming operations on behalf of the Company. 
Governor Douglas, speaking of this district, over which I 
travelled in 1859, viz. that of the Thompson, Buonaparte, 
and Chapeau rivers, says : — 

"The district comprehended within those limits is ex- 
ceedingly beautiful and picturesque, being composed of a 
succession of hills and valleys, lakes and rivers, exhibiting 



384 VALUABLE GRAZING COUNTRY. Chap. XIIT. 

to the traveller accustomed to the endless forests of the coast 
districts the unusual and grateful spectacle of miles of green 
hills crowning slopes and level meadows, almost without a 
bush or tree to obstruct the view, and even to the very hill- 
tops producing an abundant growth of grass. It is of great 
value as a grazing district, — a circumstance which appears to 
be thoroughly understood and appreciated by the country 
packers, who are in the habit of leaving their mules and 
horses here when the regular work of packing goods to the 
mines is suspended for the winter. The animals, even at 
that season are said to improve in condition, though left to 
seek their own food and to roam at large over the country : a 
fact which speaks volumes in favour of the climate and of the 
natural pastures. It has certainly never been my good for- 
tune to visit a country more pleasing to the eye, or possessing 
a more healthy and agreeable climate, or a greater extent of 
fine pasture-land ; and there is no doubt that, with a smaller 
amount of labour and outlay than in almost any other 
colony, the energetic settler may soon surround himself with 
all the elements of affluence and comfort. Notwithstanding 
these advantages, such have hitherto been the difficulties of 
access that the course of regular settlement has hardly 
yet commenced. 

" A good deal of mining-stock has been brought in for sale, 
but, with the exception of eight or ten persons, there are no 
farmers in the district. One of those, Mr. McLean, a native 
of Scotland, and lately of the Hudson Bay Company's ser- 
vice, has recently settled in a beautiful spot near the deb'ouche 
of the Hat River, and is rapidly bringing his land into culti- 
vation. He has a great number of horses and cattle of the 
finest American breeds; and, from the appearance of the 
crops, there is every prospect that his labour and outlay will 
be well rewarded. He is full of courage, and as confident as 
deserving of success. He entertains no doubt whatever of 
the capabilities of the soil, which he thinks will, under 



Chap. XTTI. FARMING AT PAVILLOX. 385 

proper management, produce any kind of grain or root crops. 
The only evil he apprehends is the want of rain, and the 
consequent droughts of summer, which has induced him to 
bring a supply of water from a neighbouring stream, by 
which he can at pleasure irrigate the whole of his fields." 

Again ; Mr. Douglas, in speaking of the farm at Pavilion, 
which I mentioned in my account of that place, says : — 

" I received an equally favourable report from Mr. Rey- 
nolds, who commenced a farm at Pavilion in 1859, and has 
consequently had the benefit of two years' experience. His 
last crop (I860), besides a profusion of garden vegetables, 
consisted of oats, barley, turnips, and potatoes, and the pro- 
duce was most abundant. The land under potatoes yielded 
375 bushels to the acre. The turnip-crop was no less prolific; 
one of the roots weighed 26 lbs., and swedes of 15 lbs. and 
1() lbs. were commonly met with.* He could not give the 
yield of oats and barley, the greater part having been sold in 
the sheaf for the mule-trains passing to and from the mines ; 
but the crop, as was manifest from the weight and length of 
the straw, which attained a height of fully four feet, was 
remarkably good. He generally allows his cattle to run at 
large, and they do not require to be housed or fed in winter. 
The cold is never severe ; the greatest depth of snow in 1859 
was 12 inches, and the following winter it did not exceed 6. 
Ploughing commences about the middle of March.. The 
summers are generally dry, and Mr. Reynolds is of opinion 
that irrigation will be found an indispensable application in 
the process of husbandry in this district. In the dry summer 
of 1859 he kept water almost constantly running through 
his fields, but applied it only twice during the summer of 
1860, when the moisture of the atmosphere proved otherwise 
sufficient for the crops." t 

* Roots of this weight, and even heavier, are quite common in California and 
Ore 'gdi). 

t ' Blue Book,' part iv. pp. 54, 55. 

2 c 



386 CLIMATE CHANGED BY CULTIVATION. Chap. XIII. 

Although the irrigation spoken of as necessary may appear 
a great drawback, it is not so really ; for so numerous are the 
streams all over the country, and in such a variety of direc- 
tions do they run, that very little care will enable a man so 
to lay out his fields that he may always have plenty of water 
at his command. The Governor remarked this. " The 
numerous streams," he says, "which permeate the valleys 
of tins district afford admirable facilities for inexpensive 
irrigation. So bountiful, indeed, has Nature been in this 
respect, that it is hardly an exaggeration to say that there is 
a watercourse or rivulet for every moderate-sized farm that 
will be opened in the district." * 

I think it will be found, however, that, as civilization ad- 
vances, as the hill-tops are denuded of trees, and the soil of 
the valleys is broken up, artificial irrigation will not be so ne- 
cessary as it now is. Experience elsewhere shows that the 
climate changes as a country becomes settled ; and already this 
is felt in other parts of this colony. Last year the rain fell in 
the summer time much more abundantly than it had been 
known to do before ; while the winter, in which hitherto all 
the rain had fallen, was drier. I think that Victoria has 
seen the last of the regular wet and dry seasons that used 
to set in, and that henceforth there will be rain throughout 
the year as in England. The rain also becomes much less 
partial as settlement progresses. A few years ago we used to 
have rain at Victoria when not a drop fell at Esqmmalt, three 
miles off; and I have seen it rain hard on shore on one side 
of the harbour, when there was none falling on the other. 
This, however, seldom happens now. 

The country lying south-east of the district we have been con- 
sidering, is perhaps even richer and more open. I have never 
visited it myself; but every one whom I have heard speak of 
it called it the best agricultural district in the colony. It is 

* ' Blue Book,' part iv. pp. 54, 55. 



Chap. XTIT. LIEUT. PALMER'S REPORT. 387 

usually called the Semilkameen country, from the river of 
that name which runs through it ; and it extends from the 
Nicola Kiver and head-waters of the Thompson, at the 
Shuswap Lake, down by the Okanagan Lake and River to the 
boundary line. This region has lately been opened up by 
a trail cut from Fort Hope through a gorge in the Cascade 
range of hills, which at that point are called Hanson 
Mountains; and thence descending upon the Semilkameen 
and Okanagan Rivers. Beneficial as this trail will be to that 
district, like most of the mountain-trails of the country, it 
will only be available from four to six months of the year 
from the depth of snow in the gorge through which it passes. 
In September, ft59, Lieutenant Palmer, R.E., w T as sent 
to examine this trail and, the country adjoining it; and 
although he reports very favourably on the soil and gene- 
ral capabilities of it, he thinks the difficulty of obtaining 
provisions, &c, will deter settlers for some time. Of the soil 
be says: "The grass is generally of a good quality, the 
prickly-pear and ground-cactus, the sore enemy to the 
moccassined traveller, being the surest indication of an 
approach to an inferior quality. Timber is for the most 
part scarce, but coppices appear at the sharp bends of 
the river tolerably well wooded, and abounding in an 
underbush of willow and wild cherry, while near the base of 
the mountains it exists in quantities easily procurable, and 
more than sufficient for the requirements of any settlers who 
might at some time populate the district. The soil is some- 
what sandy and light, but free from stones, and generally pro- 
nounced excellent for grazing and farming ; and though the 
drought in summer is great, and irrigation necessary, many 
large portions are already well watered by streams from the 
mountains, whose fall is so rapid as greatly to facilitate such 
further irrigation as might be required. In corroboration of 
my expressed opinion relative to the yielding properties of the 
soil, I may mention that in spots through which, perchance, 

2 c 2 



388 LIEUT. PALMER'S REPORT. Chap. XIII. 

some small rivulet or spring wound its way to the river, wild 
vegetation was most luxuriant, and grass, some blades of 
which I measured out of curiosity, as much as nine feet high, 
well rounded and firm, and a quarter of an inch in diameter 
at its lower end. The river throughout its course is confined 
to a natural bed, the banks being steep enough to prevent 
inundation during the freshets (a favourable omen for agri- 
culture), and its margin is generally fringed with a con- 
siderable growth of wood of different kinds." * 

In concluding his report he says: "The present unde- 
veloped state of British Columbia, and the absence of any 
good roads of communication with the interior, would pro- 
bably render futile the attempt to settle the Semilkameen 
and other valleys in the vicinity of the 49th parallel. Exten- 
sive crops, it is true, might probably be raised, but the immi- 
grant would have to depend for other necessaries of life either 
on such few as might from time to time find their way into 
the country from Washington territory, or on such as might, 
during four months in the year, be obtained from Fort Hope 
and other points on the Fraser River, and either of which 
could not be obtained but at prices too exorbitant for the 
pocket of the poor man. It would seem, therefore, that the 
Buonaparte and Thompson River valleys are the natural 
starting-points for civilization and settlement. Starting from 
these points, civilization would gradually creep forward and 
extend finally to the valleys of the frontier." t 

While quite agreeing with Lieutenant Palmer that the 
Buonaparte and Thompson valleys have at present the advan- 
tage of the Semilkameen, I think he overestimates some of 
the difficulties of settling the latter. The great advantage 
possessed by the former is in the fact of their lying on the 
road to the richest diggings now worked in the country 
(Cariboo). This, of course, enables the farmer to find a near 

* ' Blue Book,' part iii. p. 85. f Ibid. 



Chap. XIII. PROSPECTS OF MINING. 389 

and convenient market for his produce ; as, for instance, in one 
of the reports from which I have quoted, Mr. Reynolds, a 
farmer there, is said to have sold all or nearly all his oats and 
barley in the sheaf to the mule-trains trading to the mines. 
Just now the Semilkameen country, in which very rich 
diggings were discovered, has been deserted for the superior 
attractions of Cariboo ; but a lucky find, which is likely to 
occur at any time, will bring the miners hurrying back again, 
to the profit, of course, of the settlers farming there. In 
proof of the probability of this occurring, it may be mentioned 
that in May 1861, Mr. Cox (the Cold Commissioner at Rock 
Creek) reports: " We prospected nine streams, all tributaries 
of the lake (Okanagan), and found gold in each, averaging 
from thirty to ninety cents a pan." He then mentions other 
good prospects which have not been made public, "as it would 
only lead to bad results just at present. The miners in this 
(Bock Creek) neighbourhood would be easily coaxed off, and 
the mines now in preparatory condition for being worked, 
abandoned; improvements going on in buildings or farms 
would be checked; town lots would be almost unsaleable; in 
fact, the expected revenue receipt would be seriously interfered 
with." * 

As to the necessaries and even the luxuries of life, there is 
no doubt that the settlers in the Semilkameen districts could 
command them cheaper and more readily than those upon the 
Upper Fraser, obtaining them as they might across the boun- 
dary from Wal la- Walla and Colville upon the Columbia Kiver. 
I have before mentioned that this fact of the Americans carry- 
ing on a trade across the frontier was a great cause of com- 
plaint to the British merchants, who, having to take their 
goods up the Fraser Kiver, found themselves undersold by 
their more fortunate rivals. To remedy this, in December 
1860, an order was issued prohibiting the transmission of 

* ' Blue Book,' part iv. p. 50. 



390 TRADE AND CLIMATE. Chap. XTII. 

goods across the frontier except at a high rate of duty, and 
then only " pending the completion of the communications in 
British Columbia." This prohibitory proclamation was issued 
because when the Governor visited New Westminster in 
October 1860, "there was much depression in business circles, 
and a marked decrease of trade ; .... a casualty gene- 
rally attributed by business men to the growing overland 
trade with the possessions of the United States in Oregon and 
Washington territory, which now supply, on the southern 
frontier of the colony, a large proportion of the bulky articles, 
such as provisions and bread-stuffs, consumed in the eastern 
districts of British Columbia." * This clearly shows that 
the southern districts of the colony can be more easily sup- 
plied than any others : while, for agricultural purposes, the 
advantages of climate there will be a consideration of great 
weight. 

In the northern part of the colony, from Alexandria 
upwards, although the soil, wherever it has been tried by the 
Hudson Bay Company's people, has been found good, the 
country is too cold and liable to frost, in the early summer, 
to offer the attractions as a producing district possessed by 
the country farther south. 

Mr. McLean, however, who lived many years at Alex- 
andria, told me that he had known a bushel of wheat 
planted there yield forty bushels ; but this was considerably 
more than an average produce. Of the Upper posts, Mr. 
Manson, who was seven years at Fort St. James, told me the 
soil is good, but the crops, except barley, are almost always 
nipped by frost. During the whole of his residence there, 
they only got two crops of potatoes. At Fraser Fort, which 
is in nearly the same latitude as Fort James, but con- 
siderably to the westward of it, vegetation thrives much better. 
and barley, peas, turnips, and potatoes, almost always yield 

* ' Blue Book," pari iii. p. 22. 



Chap. XIII. BANKS OF THE LOWER ERASER. 391 

good crops. The country southward of Fraser Fort and down 
to the Ohilcotin Eiver, I was told by Mr. McLean, as well as 
by a settler whom I met at Pavilion, contained very good 
farming-land, but on most of it there are two or three feet of 
snow every winter : so that these regions will not yet vie with 
those before spoken of ; for at Pavilion, in the northern part of 
the Thompson River district, Mr. Reynolds, as I have before 
mentioned, said they had only twelve inches of snow in the 
winter of 1859-60, aad only six inches in 18G0-b'l. More- 
over, in the north the cattle must always be stall-fed in 
winter. 

Of the banks of the Lower Fraser, between the mouth 
of the river and Fort Hope, the Governor rates : " The 
banks of this river are almost every where covered with 
woods. Varieties of pine, and firs of prodigious size, and 
Large poplar-trees, predominate. The vine and soft maple, 
the wild apple-tree, the white and black thorn, and deciduous 
bushes in great variety, form the massive undergrowth. The 
vegetation is luxuriant, almost beyond conception, and at this 
season of the year presents a peculiarly beautiful appearance. 
The eye never tires of ranging over the varied shades of the 
. fresh green foliage, mingling with the clustering white flowers 
of the wild apple-tree, now in full blossom and filling the air 
with delicious fragrance. As our boat, gliding swiftly over 
the surface of the smooth waters, occasionally swept beneath 
the overhanging boughs that form a canopy of leaves imper- 
vious to the sun's scorching rays, the effect was enchanting." 

Although I have said that the country seaward of the 
Cascade Range is, as a whole, unfit for agricultural purposes, 
there are some spots of very fine land near the coast quite suffi- 
cient to produce all that will for a long time be required by 
the population there. I have before spoken of the Lilloett 
meadows at Port Pemberton, and of the valley of the 
Squawmisht, at the head of Howe Sound, as containing much 
valuable land. At the mouth of the Fraser, also, there is 



392 BANKS OF THE PITT RIVEK. Chap. XIII. 

an extensive plain which is covered in summer with most 
luxuriant hay, and which, although now flooded when the 
water is high, might, I think, easily be reclaimed. The hay 
from this plain has already become a source of considerable 
profit to some settlers, who cut and send it to Victoria. 

Five miles above New Westminster, on the banks of the 
Pitt River, are also found extensive clear plains called the 
Pitt meadows. These will no doubt soon be cultivated 
for the supply of New Westminster, their only drawback 
being that many parts are liable to overflow. In 1860 the 
Governor visited Pitt Lake, from winch the river of that 
name flows, and, speaking of these meadows, he says : " The 
banks of the Pitt Eiver are exceedingly beautiful : extensive 
meadows sweep gracefully from the very edge of the river 
towards the distant line of forest and mountain. The rich 
alluvial soil produces a thick growth of grass, interspersed 
with the Michaelmas daisy, the wild rose, and scattered groups 
of willows. This fine district contains an area of 20,000 acres 
of good arable land, requiring no clearing from timber, and 
ready for the immediate operations of the plough. Many 
parts of it are, however, exposed to overflow through the 
periodical inundations of the Eraser, which commence about 
the first week in June, and generally subside before the 
middle of July. Owing to this circumstance, the Pitt 
meadows are not adapted for raising wheat or other cereals 
which require the entire season to mature ; but it may be 
turned to good account in growing hay and every kind of 
root crop, and may also be used extensively for pasturing 
cattle, and for the purposes of dairy." * 

In addition to these localities, there is a considerable 
quantity of clear land around, and opposite to, .the deserted 
city of Derby. Land may now be obtained in British 
Columbia under the enactments of the new pre-emption 

* 'Blue Book,' part iv. p. 8. 



(Jiiap. XIII. THE PRE-EMPTION SYSTEM. 393 

system readily, and at a very low rate, in those parts of the 
country yet unsurveyed ; which include indeed all but that 
immediately surrounding the settlements. An intending 
settler has merely to fix upon the site of his farm, and give 
such a description of its locality, boundaries, &c, as he is 
able to the nearest magistrate, paying at the same time a fee 
of 8*. for its registration. These regulations extend, however, 
to 160 acres only. A settler desiring to pre-empt a larger 
quantity than that, must pay down an instalment of 2s. Id. 
per acre. This payment entitles him to possession of the 
land until it is surveyed by the Government, when the full 
value at which it may be assessed — which cannot, however, 
exceed !x. 2d. an acn — becomes payable. To prevent specu- 
lators holding large tracts of country, and thus keeping out 
bonot fide settlers, land held under the pre-emption system 
cannot be legally sold, mortgaged, or leased, unless the pre- 
emptor can prove to the magistrate that he has made per- 
manent improvements on the land to the value of 10s. an 
acre. As this land-system is of great importance to the 
intending settler, the latest proclamations upon the subject 
are given in full in the Appendix. 

On Vancouver Island, although the quantity of agri- 
cultural land is very small in comparison with that in British 
Columbia, there are many lovely spots for farms; and the 
soil, wherever it has been tried, is very fertile. To name all 
the clear spots on the island would take too much space, and 
would be of no advantage to the settler unacquainted with 
the country. I will, therefore, merely speak of the larger 
tracts which have been examined, and of the system by 
which these, or any portions of them, may be occupied. 

The districts of Soke and Metchosin, at the south-east 
extreme of the island, contain a large quantity of good land, 
much of which is still unsettled. Of the capabilities of this 
tract, 1 cannot do better than quote the evidence of the late 
Colonel Grant, who was one of the first immigrants to Van- 



3^4 SOKE AND METCHOSIN" DISTRICTS. Chap. XIII. 

couver, and whose farm was in this district. He says that 
he found the soil produce abundantly, when cultivated, 
any crops that can be grown in Scotland or England. 
After describing Soke Harbour, he continues : — " Along the 
eastern shore there is little or no available land. Fol- 
lowing the shore of the harbour, we come to no available 
land until half-way to the Indian village, which is situated 
at the bend above-mentioned ; round it are a few hundred 
acres of available woodland. At this point the Soke Eiver 
discharges itself, which takes its course in two lakes, one 
about 12 miles in a direct line to the north, and the other 
about 25 miles up. There are a few patches of open meadow- 
land near the mouth of the river, on which the Indians grow 
considerable quantities of potatoes. Small canoes can go up 
the river to a distance of three miles ; there is a little level 
land along it at intervals for that distance, consisting of a 
rich alluvial soil, covered with a magnificent growth of timber. 
This land, however, where it exists at all, merely extends 
for a few yards back from the river, and beyond the whole 
country is utterly unavailable. From the mouth of the river 
all along the west coast of the harbour, the land is rich and 
level ; and, though at present covered with woodland, may, 
doubtless, some day be brought into cultivation. Near the 
entrance of the harbour, and running from it across a 
peninsula to the Straits, is a small prairie of 315 acres. 
The soil in the prairie is a rich, black vegetable mould from 
three to four feet deep, with a stiff clay subsoil, resting on 
sandstone, and the surrounding woodland also consists of very 
rich soil." 

Colonel Grant then proceeds to state that "five square 
miles, of which 330 acres in all are open land, and the 
remainder tolerably level woodland, will certainly comprise 
the whole available land in the district." In this estimate, 
however, there is no doubt that he is a good deal under 
the mark. 



Chap. XIII. OOWITCHEN A T ALLEY. 395 

Immediately round Victoria, and in the Baanitch district, on 
the peninsula spoken of before, is much good land ; but this is 
now all or nearly all settled and under cultivation. The Cow- 
itchen Valley, which I mentioned in my journal as comprising 
a very large quantity of available land, was surveyed in 1860, 
and in the surveyor's report will be found the following re- 
marks : — "I am firmly persuaded that under a common judi- 
cious system of farming, as good returns can be obtained from 
these lands as in any part of the continent of America. The 
climate, it may be noted, is one especially adapted for the 
pursuits of agriculture, not being subject to the heats and 
droughts of California, or to the colds of the other British 
American provinces and the eastern United States. The 
loamy soils everywhere possessing a depth of two or three 
feet, and containing a large proportion of the calcareous 
principle, are especially eligible for fruit-culture; and the 
oak-plains around the Somenos and Quamichan lakes,* with 
a sandy clay subsoil, are exceedingly well adapted for fruit 
or garden purposes. Among the native/ruits the blackberry, 
mulberry, raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, currant, and 
high bush-cranberry, would require little pains or culture 
to produce luxuriantly. The varieties of plants are very 
numerous ; a few only were noted growing on the plains or 
meadow lands, among which are the following : — Wild pea, 
wild beans, ground-nut, clover, field-strawberry, wild oat, cut 
grass, wild timothy, reed meadow-grass, long spear-grass, 
sweet grass, high ostrich-fern, cowslip, crowfoot, winter cress, 
partridge-berry, wild sunflower, marigold, wild lettuce, 
nettles, wild Angelica, wild lily, broad-leafed rush, and reed- 
bush. The ferns attain a height of six or eight feet, and the 
grasses all have a vigorous growth. 

" The following are some of the trees or shrubs : — Oak, 
red or swamp maple, alder, trailing arbutus, bois de Heche, 

* In the Cowiteheu Valley. 



396 THE SOMENOS VALLEY. Chap. XIII. 

crab-apple, hazel-nut, red alder, willow, balsam-poplar, pitch- 
juice, and various other species; balsam-fir, cedar, barberry, 
wild red cherry, wild blackberry, yellow plum, choke-cherry, 
black and red raspberry, swamp-rose, bearberry, red elder, 
mooseberry, snowberry, blueberry, bilberry, whortleberry, 
cranberry, red and white mulberry. 

"The whole area surveyed is 57,658 acres, of which 45,000 
acres of plain and prairie land may be set down as superior 
agricultural lands, the remaining portion being woodland, 
either open or thick." 

Though I have not perfect confidence in all the details of 
the gentleman who was charged with this survey, and who 
was not one of the regular staff, the general outline may be 
trusted ; and I have given the above extracts to show gene- 
rally how rich the country is wherever it is free from the 
heavy timber. The luxuriance of the growth of wild fruits 
and flowers exceeds that of any country I have ever been in. 
I do not, of course, mean to compare it with the rank vegeta- 
tion of the tropics, but I assert that it is more naturally fertile 
than any region I have ever visited. 

Above the Cowitchen Valley come the Somenos Yalley 
and the Nanaimo district. In each of these there is much 
good land. 

Mr. Pearce, the assistant-colonial surveyor, who examined 
and reported on these districts, divides the land around 
Nanaimo into four divisions — the Mountain, Cranberry, and 
Cedar districts, and the Delta plains — estimating them to 
contain together 43,450 acres. He says of the second of 
these : — " The soil is sandy, but covered with the most luxu- 
riant vegetation, fern, wild fruit-bushes, and trees, among 
which it may be noted the crab-apple and cherry are every- 
where found. The woods are, for the most part, open, and 
free from bush and fallen timber, and present quite a tropical 
appearance. The principal timber is cedar, pine, maple, and 
poplar, all of which grow to gigantic size, the pine^ rising to 



Chap. XIII. THE CEDAR DISTRICT. 397 

100 feet without a branch, and having many distinct and 
separate tops ; the branches of the cedar grow to the very- 
ground. Some of these trees measure 27 feet in circum- 
ference, and are perfectly sound. The maple and poplar- 
trees are very tall and straight, and average 10 feet in 
circumference." Of the Cedar district, which contains 11,000 
acres, he says : — " Nearly the whole of this is available for 
cultivation. The soil is very fertile, and of a good depth. 
with a clay subsoil, and abounds in springs of beautiful water. 
especially along the coast, which are probably caused by the 
drainage from the lakes in the interior. The south-eastern 
part is also filled with large lakes, though the land generally 
IS poor and rocky around them, but the pine, cedar, and 
maple timber, is all of the finest kind. The lakes are per- 
fectly full of trout, and the surrounding country abounds with 
all kind of game before mentioned; i.e., elk, deer, bear, 
grouse, partridge, wildfowl, crane, and pigeon." Of the 
Delta plains, which contain about 1000 acres, he says: — 
"The southern portion consists of rich vegetable soil, of a 
gnat depth, with a subsoil of muddy clay or loam, the deposit 
of ages; the north portion is apparently subject at long inter- 
vals to floods, but is, nevertheless, admirably suited for a 
stock or grazing farm, or rather farms, bearing a long rich 
giass, which the Indians annually cut and sell to the settlers 
at Colville town (Nanaimo)." 

Of the Komoux, Salmon Eiver, and other clear places 
farther north on the island, I have spoken in the description 
of my visits to them. According to Mr. Pemberton, the 
colonial surveyor, there must be a good deal more clear land 
at Komoux, Courtenay Eiver, than we saw, as he estimates it 
at 30 square miles. 

At Fort Rupert, which is the most northern spot on the 
island where cultivation has been attempted, the produce of 
vegetables and flowers in the garden is yearly most luxuriant. 
Nor is this strange, when it is remembered that the northern- 



398 MR, MOFFAT'S SUMMARY. Chap. XIII. 

most point of the island is only in the same latitude as the 
Thompson River district. 

I have given in a previous chapter some extracts from the 
Journal of Mr. Moffat, the only white man who has visited 
the interior of the island at the north end. In his summary 
he says : — 

" The timber in the interior of the island is very fine ; in 
fact the banks of both sides of the Mmpkish River, from the 
first lake almost to the Nootka Inlet, are lined with splendid 
red pines,* large and long enough for the spars of the largest 
men-of-war. The water-communication is also a great con- 
sideration. Spars could be squared, rolled into the water, and 
floated down without difficulty to any depot, such as the 
anchorage at Illeece, or even Beaver Cove. 

" The various berries of the country grow in great abun- 
dance, with the exception of the small dark berry resembling 
a beaver-shot ; I am unacquainted with the name. It is 
plentiful down south and at Comoux. Salmon of various 
kinds, of splendid quality, are found in abundance on the 
coast, as well as halibut and other sea-fish. 

" Rock-oysters of large size I procured to the north of 
Nootka, some 50 miles, but saw few other shell-fish, except 
the large sea-mussel and the barnacle. Crabs and sea-egg 
were plentiful, also the sea-cucumber, and the various species 
of star-fish and sea-anemones. 

" The zoology is the same as other parts of Vancouver 
Island, except that the purple marmot is occasionally found 
at Koskimo, but not the common grey marmot. The white 
land-otters, which have at various times been forwarded from 
here, were killed near Kioquettuck. 

"The depth of the Nimpkish Lake I have since sounded, 
and got no bottom at seventy-five fathoms from the stern of a 
canoe, her bow being aground ashore." 

* Probably Red Fir (Abies Douglasin. 



Chap. XIII. 



RAPTD COMMERCIAL PROGRESS. 



399 



Mr. Moffat also mentions having discovered at the Nimp- 
kisli Lake " a tree resembling a walnut, with a trunk about 
\.\ feet in circumference, and emitting a line perfume." 

So rapid has been the commercial progress of the colony 
since the discovery of gold to the present time, and so 
necessarily fluctuating are all the tariffs of a country whose 
population doubles or trebles in a month or two, and then 
in a few months dwindles nearly to a cipher, that it is 
impossible to give anything like a satisfactory account of its 
commerce. The principal trade is with San Francisco, and 
iron i the custom-honse books we can learn the tonnage 
which has arrived at, and cleared from, California during the 
past year. From these we find a decrease in the trade of 
1861 from that of 1860, which is owing, doubtless, to the 
increasing trade with England and the eastern states of 
America, and to the large stock left on hand from the pre- 
ceding year. But of the export of gold we are unable to get 
any just estimate, on account of so large a proportion of it 
having been exported by private individuals, of which the 
Custom-house at Victoria takes no cognizance. We find 
from the colonial returns in January, 1802, that the number 
of vessels, including steamers, that arrived at San Francisco 
was 40 ; the tonnage, 29,597 tons ; the total exports, not 
including gold, 48,905 dollars. Fifteen vessels, all steamers, 
left the colony in ballast, and consequently all the exports of 
the colony were carried in 31 vessels. The ports at which 
they loaded, the tonnage, and the value, were as follows : — 







Vessels. 


Tonnage. 


Exports. 












Dollars. 






Soke .. 


2 


576 


6,500 






Nanaimo 


15 


4252 


34,124 






Victoria 


14 


6533 


8,381 





This shows that Nanaimo exceeds Victoria in exports four- 
fold, which is reasonable enough, when it is remembered that 



400 COMMERCIAL STATISTICS. Chap. XIII. 

all the coal exported from that port is known, while the gold 
sent from the other is not ascertainable. The comparison 
above-mentioned of the years 1860 and 1861 shows a decrease 
of 11 vessels and 14,291 tons arriving at San Francisco, and 
that the falling off in the number of vessels cleared for Victoria 
is greater than in the number entered. In 1860, 116 vessels, 
with a total tonnage of 62,998 tons, cleared for British 
Columbia and Vancouver Island. In 1861 there were only 
84 vessels carrying 43,675 tons ; showing a decrease of 32 
vessels and 19,323 tons. If we did not know that more gold 
has been found in that than in any previous year, this would 
appear alarming ; but the fact being that the supply of gold 
is increasing, it must be attributed to the overstocked markets 
of 1860. This, indeed, I know was the case, for merchants at 
Victoria, well aware that good news from the upper country 
might at any time bring a rush of immigration, laid in a large 
supply of such stores as would not perish, so as to be ready 
in case of emergency. 

The statistics of the treasure (coin) sent up from California 
show only two shipments: in January, 24,000 dollars, in 
September, 3500 dollars. This is doubtless true as regards 
the custom-house books, but that much more must have 
come in some way is certain from the amount of dust 
which was bought for cash in Victoria. Wells, Fargo, and 
Company, of whom I have before spoken, are stated to have 
sent down 1,339,895 dollars (279,1457.) in gold-dust during 
the year 1861, and another Company (Macdonald and Co.) to 
have shipped between June and December 296,895 dollars 
(62,269/. 15s. 10d.), making a total of 1,636,790 dollars 
(342,4147. lis. 8c?.), of which a large part is said to have been 
paid for in Victoria. 

In the interior of the country the prices are never steadv : 
not only do they rise and fall with summer and winter, but 
any delays on the route, the non-arrival of a pack-train when 
it is expected, or the influx of 100 or 200 men, will always 
run the prices up for a few days at least. The whole ten- 



Chap. XIII. PRICES CURRENT OF 1860-1. 401 

dency, however, is doubtless towards cheapening the supplies 

as the communications become more complete and less liable to 

interruption from bad roads, &c. I have mentioned that the 

winter before I went up the country, i. e., 1858-59, bacon 

was selling at " Bigbar," 100 miles below Cariboo, at 1J 

dollars (6s.) per lb., and flour at 75 cents (3s.). 

I now give the prices current in the summer of 1SG0. In 

September, 1860, the prices at Alexandria, 100 miles South 

of Cariboo, were — * 

£. s. d. 

Flour per lb. 12 

Beans „ 13 

Bacon „ 3 1 

Sugar 3 1* 

Rice „ 13 

Tea „ 6 

Coffee „ 3 1 

Lard „ 3 li 

Candles „ 5 

Soap „ 2 

Salt „ 2 

Pepper (ground) „ 4 

Yeast-powder per tin 4 

Butter per lb. 6 

Rope 3 l£ 

Tobacco ,, 8 

Potatoes „ 10 

Steel shovels each 14 

Picks ,,100 

Sluice forks „ 18 

Axes (Collins') „ 14 

Nails per lb. 2 

Quicksilver „ 12 

Overshirts each 10 

Undershirts ,,090 

Canvas trousers per pair 10 

Kentucky tweed trousers „ 12 

Corduroy (common) ,, 10 

Boots „ 1Z. 12s. to 21. 8s. 

Shoes (common) „ 14 

Drilling per yard 13 

Duck „ 3 4 

Oregon blankets per pair 2 



* ' Blue Book,' part iv. p. 43. 



2 D 



402 PRICES CURRENT OF 1860-1. Chap. XIII. 

In September of the same year they were— 

£. s. a. 

Bacon per lb. 3 

Sugar „ 3 

Flour „ 4 12 

Beans „ 14 

Tea „ 6 4 

Coffee (green) „ 2 8 

Lard ,, 3s. to 3s. Gd. 

Candles „ 5 2 

Soap „ 2 

Pepper (ground) „ 042 

Yeast-powder per tin 4 2 

Butter per lb. 6 4 

Rope per fathom 3 

Tobacco (common) per lb. 8 4 

Potatoes „ 10 

Onions „ 2 

Grey shirts each 10 6 

Undershirts „ 7 

Canvas trousers per pair 10 6 

Common corduroy trousers .... „ 110 

Boots (mining) .. .. „ 11. 13s. to 21. 2s. 

SI loes (common) „ 15 

Drilling per yard 13 

Duck „ 3 4 

Oregon blankets . . . . per pair 2 2 

Shovels (steel) . . . . each 15 

Collins' picks .. .. „ 110 

Sluice-forks ' .. .. .. „ 19 

Axes .. .. „ 1 13 

Quicksilver per lb. 12 6 

Nails „ 2 

Powder „ 8 

Lead „ 4 

In January, 1861, we have the prices at Hope — 

Flour per barrel 11. 8s. to 17. 12s. 

Bacon per lb. lOd. to ll%d. 

Beans „ 2\d. to 4c?. 

Sugar „ 5d. to Is. 0£d. 

Coffee ,, Is. to Is. 2d. 

Tea „ 2s. to 4s. 

Butter „ Is. 2hd. to 2s. Id. 

Lard .. .. „ 10c?. to Is. 3(7. 

Rice „ 4d. to Ud. 

Candles „ Is. Sd. to 2s. Id. 



Chap. XIII. FKEIGHT — TOLLS — REVENUE. 403 

In the Semilkarneen district at same date — 

s. d. 

Flour per lb. 1 4£ 

Bacon „ 1 10 

Lard. „ 2 

r „ 13 

Tea „ 5 

Coffel „ 2 

At that time the rates of freight were very low, in conse- 
quence of excessive competition; only .'5/. per ton being 
charged from Victoria to Yale while in the spring of I860 
in/. per ton was charged. Mr. Banders, the Assistant Gold 
Commissioner at Vale, says: — "The miner and labouring 
man can live comfortably there on 3s. a day. Charge of 
restaurants is 11. a week. Bate of wanes 10/. per month and 

keep." * 

He estimates the probable yield of the read-toll between 

Vale and Lyttun for the year at — 

£. s. d. 

5000 mules, 300 lbs. each, or 1500 tuns .. 3000 

400 tons l»y buats 800 

750 tons carried by fndi&ns 1500 



£5300 

According to the list kept by him during the past season 

(18G0), 2723 mules were packed to the interior from that 

town (Yale). The revenue of the district of Yale for 1860 

was — 

£. s. d. 

Mining licences 267 

Mining receipts (general) 201 6 2 

Tolls and femes 238 17 5 

Sales of lands 272 

Fines and Fees 96 14 

Spirit licences 320 

Tracking licences 141 



£1536 17 7 
Since that time, however, some new roads have been 

* * Blue Book,' part iv. p. 48. 

2 d 2 



404 PUBLIC WORKS. Chap. XIII. 

completed and several begun, and each mile of these makes 
things cheaper. Writing at the same time, the Governor 
says : " The works we propose to execute this year are as 
follows : — 

Miles. 

Cart-road from Bemberton to Cayoosh, length about .. .. 36 

,, from Hope to Semilkameen .. 74 

Improvement of the navigation of the Semilkameen Eiver . . 60 

Horse-road from Boston Bar to Lytton 30 . 

„ from Lytton to Alexandria 150 

„ from Cayoosh to junction with Lytton Boad . . 30 

In Progress. 

Boad from New Westminster to Langley 15 

„ from New Westminster to Burrard Inlet 9 

„ from New Westminster to boundary line at Semiahmoo 14 

„ from Spuzzum to Boston Bar (nearly finished) . . . . 20 

For these purposes he says the colony can find 25,000/., 
and asks for a loan of 50,000/.* 

If the routes which are now being tried between Bute 
Inlet and Bentinck Arm to Cariboo succeed, it will make a 
considerable change in the commercial position of the towns 
on the Fraser, and very probably some difference to Victoria. 
For Bute Inlet the traffic will still go in by the strait 
of Fuca and past Victoria, but if Bentinck Arm becomes a 
thoroughfare, vessels bound thither will do much better to 
keep outside the Vancouver Island rather than go up the 
inner channels, for the entrance to Bentinck Arni is 70 
miles north of the north end of the island. It will be a 
considerable advantage to these routes if they are able to 
avail themselves of inland water-carriage, as it is always so 
much cheaper than land-carriage. I have mentioned in 
proof of this that on the Lilloett Eiver in the winter of 
1858-59, the Indians were taking goods up the river in their 
canoes for 5 cents (2Jc?.) per lb., while the packers on the 
trail were charging 15 cents (7Je/.). 

* ' Blue Book,' part iv. p. 44. 



Chap. XIII. ABUNDANCE OF FISH. 405 

Mr. Nind, the magistrate of the Cariboo district, tells 
ine that the Fraser liiver between Alexandria and Fort 
George is navigable for steamers, and by the latest accounts 
a steamer is being placed on the river there. If the Stuart 
or West Road ltivers are found to be navigable also, it will 
shorten the coast routes both in time and expense immensely, 
and still more it' the Bellhoula liiver is navigable for any 
distance from the coast. 

In speaking of the resources of these colonies, (he immense 
supply of lish of all kinds must not be omitted. The 
quantity of salmon is almost beyond description; but it will 
give some idea of it to say that a Hudson Bay Company's 
officer, who lived many years on the Columbia, told me that 
On a sudden falling of the water such numbers were left on 
the banks as to cause the river to stink for miles. The usual 
way of catching this fish is by spearing from the canoe; in 
salt-water the Indians do this as they paddle about the 
harbours, or, if it be at the mouth of a river, drive stakes in 
to keep the lish back, and then spear them while they are 
trying to get through. In the rivers a net is fixed into a 
frame; the fish run into this and are speared, or, when the 
water is still, are taken out with a small scoop-net fastened on 
the end of a pole. They use spindles of the Thuja plicata as 
corks for the upper part of these nets, and weight the lower 
part with stones. " The rope of the net is made of Salix or 
Thuja, and the cord of Apocymene piscatorium (A. hyperici- 
. folium ?), a gigantic species peculiar to this country, whose 
fibre affords a great quantity of flax."* I have frequently 
watched this proceeding. Mr. David Douglas, the botanist, 
gives such a capital description of the w r ay these nets are 
iltted, in his journal, that I cannot do better than transcribe 
it literally : — 

" The quantity of salmon (Salmo scoulieri ? — Kichardson) 

* Douglas, ' Botanical Magazine,' p. DO. 



406 ABUNDANCE OF FISH. Chap. XII L 

taken in the Columbia, he says, is almost incredible ; and the 
Indians resort in great numbers to the best fishing-spots, 
often travelling several hundred miles for this purpose. The 
salmon are captured in the following manner : — Before the 
water rises, small channels are made among the rocks and 
stones, dividing the stream into branches, over which is 
erected a platform or stage on which a person can stand; 
these are made to be raised or let down as the water falls or 
rises. A scoop-net which is fastened round a hoop, and held 
by a pole 12 or 15 feet long, is then dropped into the channel, 
which it exactly fits ; and the current of the water carrying 
it down, the poor fish swims into it without being aware, 
when the individual who watches the net instantly draws it, 
and flings the fish on shore. The handle of the net is secured 
by a rope to the platform, lest the force of the current should 
drive it out of the fisher's hands. The hoop is made of Acer 
circuiatum, the net of the bark of an Apocymene, which is very 
durable and tough, and the pole of pine-wood." He gives 
also the size of some fish, and an average weight rather 
higher than I should give; but he speaks of the Columbia 
River, where, perhaps, the fish, are larger. He says they 
generally weigh 15 to 25 lbs. He measured two : one was 
3 ft. 5 in. long, and 10 inches broad at the thickest part, 
weighing 35 lbs. ; the other 3ft. 4 in., and 9 inches broad, 
weighing a little less. Both were purchased for 2 inches of 
tobacco (about half an ounce) value two-pence. In England 
they would have cost ol. or 4?. 

The mention I have before made of salmon being used 
as manure at Fort Rupert will also give an idea of their 
quantity. Since the influx of whites into the country, the 
Indians ask a much higher price for their fish than they used ; 
but when I first went there, in 1849, I remember the largest 
salmon bought on board weighed 50 lbs., and the price it 
fetched was two sticks of tobacco ! 

The sturgeon also is caught in very large numbers, and of 



Chap. XIII. GAME IN VANCOUVER. 407 

great size in some parts, the mouth of the Fraser particu- 
larly. Mr. Douglas, the botanist, mentions one caught by 
one of my companions, which measured 12 i'oet 9 inches from 
the snout to the tip of the tail, and 7 feet round the thickest 
part, while its weight exceeded 500 pounds.* 

Jlallibnt also reach an immense BU6, and are caught in 

great numbers everywhere; but, as 1 have said, particularly 

oft" the entrance of the Strait ofFuc* 

The herring literally swarm over the harbours in myriads ; 
nothing can give a b.-ttcr idea of the number of these 
fish than the way they are caught. A dozen or so of sharp 

nails OT spikes are driven into a flat piece of weed 16 or 

is feet long, and 2 or 3 inches broad, making an instrument 
like a rake; an Indian sits in the bows of his canoe, and 
dipping this down perpendicularly under water sweeps it 
along towards the after end of the canoe, pinning some six 
or eight fish en the nails each Bweep he makes ; every time 
he brings it up, he turns the nails points downwards, and 
the rake a tap on the gunwale, which knocks the fish off 
into the bottom of the canoe. In this way a man will often 
halt' till his canoe in an hour or so. 

There is much more game on Vancouver Island than 
in British Columbia; when travelling in the latter, the 
absence of animal life has always appeared to me remark- 
able, while on the former it is generally abundant. On 
Vancouver Island, when I went from Alberni to Nanaimo, I 
shot a wapiti and two deer, without going out of my way, and 
might have shot three or four more wapiti, if we had stopped 
to do so. This, it must be remembered, however, was in a 
part of the island before untrodden by man; and a settler 
must not expect to meet deer straying about his fields, or he 
will be grievously disappointed. In Columbia, on the other 
hand, there are large numbers of mountain-sheep, which are 

* Douglas, 'Memoir,' p. 91. 



408 TIMBER IN VANCOUVER. Chap. XIII. 

unknown on the island. This animal is only found on the 
mountains whose summits are covered with perpetual snow. 
I only saw one while I was in the country, and that was when 
in the snow crossing from Jervis Inlet to Howe Sound ; in- 
stead of wool it has a short thick coarse hair, and from this 
circumstance is called by the Company's servants mouton 
gris. I have never tasted it, but Mr. David Douglas says 
" the flesh is fine, quite equal to that of the domestic sheep." 
He adds, "the horns of the male, weighing sometimes 18 to 
24 lbs., are dingy white, and form a sort of volute ; those of 
the female bend back, curving outwards toward the point.'' 
I think Mr. Douglas is wrong as to the colour of the horns. 
I have seen many of them among the Indians, by whom they 
are made into spoons, and they are far more generally black 
than dingy white. 

The great set-off that Vancouver Island has against the 
gold of British Columbia, is her timber ; for though timber 
abounds in British Columbia, we came upon no place there 
where such fine spars were to be found, and with such faci- 
lities for shipping as at Barclay Sound and the neighbourhood 
of Fort Kupert. 

The following is the list of trees found at Barclay Sound, 
as given by the woodsmen employed there by the Mill 
Company already spoken of. I give first the local names, 
the scientific being appended, so far as they are known, by 
Dr. Lindley : — 

Yellow Fir, or Douglas Pine, sometimes misnamed Oregon Pine — 
Abies Douglasii. 

White Fir — probably Abies alba. 

Spruce Fir — probably Abies nigra. 

Balsam Fir — Abies balsamea. 

Willow Fir — Salix rostrata. 

White Pine — Pinus monticola. 

Yellow Pine. 

Cedar — Possibly Juniperus occidentalis. 

Alder — Probably Alnus viridis. 

Dogwood — Cornus alba. 

Yew — Taxus baccata. 



Chap. XIII. QUALITIES OF THE TIMBER. 409 

Crab-apple — Pyrus rivularis. 

Maple (two kinds) — Acer macrophyllum and probably Acer rubrum. 

Hemlock — Abies Canadiensis. 

Cotton Wood — Populus balsamifera, or Popnlus monilifera. 

Aspen —Populus tremuloides. 

Arbutus — Arbutus procera. 

Yellow Cypress — Thuja gigantea. 

Foremost among them all stands the Douglas fir (Abies 
Douglasii), named after its discoverer, David Douglas, the 
botanist. As timber for spars or plank, this tree is un- 
equalled. It grows to the height of 200 to 300 feet, and 
usually as straight as an arrow. This wood has been planted 
in several places in England, and should become one of the 
common trees of this country. The value of this wood for 
spars has been tested and reported on by the engineer of the 
French dockyard at Cherbourg, whose report was greatly in 
its favour. As plank, it is equally fine. Dr. Lindley tells me 
he has had two planks, about 20 feet long each, which have 
been in his house in a room where there is constantly a fire, 
since 1827, and that neither of them has warped or shrunk 
the least since they were first placed there. 

The following extract relating to the Douglas fir is from 
the * Gardeners' Chronicle ' : — " We now know that this most 
beautiful tree, the Douglas fir, is unsurpassable in the qualities 
which render timber most valuable. It is clean-grained, strong, 
elastic, light, and acquires large dimensions in ungenial 
climates. It thrives everywhere in the United Kingdom, 
except the extreme north, and is therefore of all trees that 
which most deserves the attention of planters for profit. To 
which we may add that no evergreen surpasses it as an orna- 
ment of scenery. 

" Little or nothing was known of the Douglas fir until it 
was brought into notice by the Horticultural Society, which 
received its seeds from the hardy collector whose name it 
bears, and distributed some thousands of young plants among 
its Fellows. As this happened about five-and-thirty years 



410 



THE DOUGLAS FIR. 



Chap. XIII. 



ago, there must already be an abundance of good specimens 
in the country. The purpose of this notice is to increase 
them to the utmost, by inducing landed proprietors to substi- 
tute the Douglas fir for the very inferior spruce. 

" The Douglas fir makes its first appearance on the moun- 
tains of Northern Mexico, in the country near the Heal del 
Monte mines. Thence it follows northwards the western 
slope of the Eocky Mountains, at least as high as the now 
celebrated but savage Cariboeuf, or Cariboo gold-field, in 
British Columbia. Douglas, the collector, who crossed the 
Rocky Mountains a little to the south, through the i Com- 
mittee's Punchbowl Pass,' reported that it formed vast forests 
there on the lower ranges, and struggled upwards till it 
became mere scrub. We ourselves had, till lately, bark of 
the tree from those desolate regions fully six inches thick. 

A spar of this fir, more than 200 feet high, has been 
erected in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew ; and sections, 
cut at intervals of 15 feet, of a tree 309 feet long, were 
sent to this country for the International Exhibition. A 
horizontal section of another tree having been sent for the 
same purpose, a careful examination of it was made to 
ascertain its age and rate of growth. The result of this 
examination, which has appeared in the 6 Gardeners' Chro- 
nicle,' will be found interesting. 

" The diameter is 6 feet, viz., 34 inches on one side, 38 on 
the other. Its rate of growth on the 34-inch side has been 
as follows : — 



The first 2 inches across were made in 

The second 

The third 

The fourth 

The fifth 

The sixth 

The seventh 

The eighth 



Years. 
7 

9 
12 
19 
17 
23 
16 
17 



Carried forward 



120 



Chap. X11T. THE DOUGLAS FIR. 








Years. 




Brought forward 


.. 120 


The ninth 




. .. 14 


The tenth 




. .. 18 


The eleventh 


5 J> •• 


. .. 24 


The twelfth 


> »} •• 


. .. 21 


The thirteenth 


> ?> . . . 


. .. 24 


The fourteenth 


» >5 


. .. 24 


The fifteenth 


> »> . . . 


. .. 31 


The sixteenth , 


> )> 


. .. 3G 


The seventeenth 


> J> 


. .. 42 



411 



Or 34 inches in semidiameter in 354 

"It is as well to remark that this British Columbian fir, 
although three centuries and a-half old, and although for the 
last forty-two years it increased little more than l-10th of an 
inch in diameter yearly, is perfectly sound to the heart. 
Foresters will understand the importance of this fact." 

Mr. Sproat, the Barclay Sound Mill Company's agent at 
Victoria, says of this wood: — " The bark of the tree is very 
like that of the Canadian hemlock. At its base, and for 
some distance up, the bark is often a foot thick ; the sap is 
always thinner in proportion as the baric is thick, and vice 
versa. The sappiest trees are those that grow in the sun- 
shine. The wood varies in colour ; a yellowish colour pre- 
dominates, though a good many are reddish. The colour 
appears to depend much on the age and situation of the tree, 
on its greater or less exposure to the sun." 

The cone of this tree can never be mistaken, as on the 
outside of each scale is a sort of claw, with three fingers to it, 
distinguishing it plainly from all other fir-cones. 

The white fir (Abies alba) is poor, compared with the 
Douglas, though the trees are often a considerable size. 

The white pine (Pinus monticola) makes very good plank 
for building purposes. 

The yellow cypress (Thuja gigantea), which abounds more 
in the north than the south of the colony, is a very useful 



412 FEUITS AND SHRUBS. Chap. XIII. 

wood, light, tough, and elastic; it makes the best plank 
for boat-building that I have ever seen. Its leaf differs from 
that of the other and common cypress (Thuja occidentalis), 
in being convex on both sides. 

For ornamental purposes the bird's-eye maple (Acer macro- 
phyllum), dogwood (Cornus alba), cedar (Juniperus occi- 
dentalis), and arbutus (Arb. procera), are all valuable. 

The maple and cedar are very plentiful, and the latter 
grows to a great size. 

The fertility of the soil wherever it has been tested is, as 
I have before said, great ; and the quantity of wild fruits 
and flowers which abound everywhere is very remarkable. 
In all swampy places cranberries of two or three sorts grow 
so plentifully that a flourishing trade is driven with them at 
San Francisco. Wild strawberries and raspberries, sallal, 
barberries, black and blue berries, salmon-berries, currants, 
and gooseberries abound. In the summer, when we were 
away surveying, the Indians brought such quantities of these 
alongside that the whole ship's company were usually sur- 
feited before the season was over. 

There are also several kinds of bulbous roots, the com- 
monest is the camass (Scilla esculenta), of which the Indians 
eat a great deal ; it has a slight onion flavour, but is sweet. 

I need not attempt a detailed account of the plants and 
shrubs of the colonies. Mr. David Douglas has described 
many ; and a fuller account may be expected from Dr. D. 
Lyall, who has been attached to the Boundary party, and 
with them examined the country from the coast to the 
summit of the Kocky Mountains. 

I may mention, however, that hops grow remarkably well, 
and that a species of tobacco and tea are to be found in 
Columbia. The former of these was first collected by Mr. 
Douglas, who says, "Among the most interesting of the 
plants which I gathered last year (1825) is a species of 
tobacco, the Nicotiana pulverulenta of Keush, correctly sur- 



Chap. XIII. TOBACCO — TEA. * 413 

mised by Nuttall to grow on this side of the Bocky Mountains ; 
though whether this country, or the Kooky Mountains them- 
selves, or the banks of the Missouri, be its original habitat, 
I am quite unable to say. I am inclined to think, however, 
that it is indigenous to the mountains, where the hunters say 
that it grows plentifully. The Nicotiana is never sown by 
the Indians near the villages, lest it should be pulled and 
used before it comes to perfect maturity. They select for 
its cultivation an open place in the wood, where they burn 
a dead tree or stump, and, strewing the ashes over the ground, 
plant the tobacco there. They say the wood-ashes invariably 
make it grow large." * I have smoked this at Fort Kam- 
loops, and liked the flavour — which was similar to that of mild 
tobacco — very much. 

The wild tea-leaf resembles that of China tea. I have 
never tasted it, but Mr. Pemberton says, " its flavour is not 
bad and effect exhilarating." He adds, "Some years ago 
the Hudson Bay Company imported a cargo, but it was 
stopped at the Custom-house and thrown overboard to avoid 
the duty."! 

I have been favoured by my friend Dr. Wood, of H.M.S. 
'Hecate,' with the following remarks upon the natural 
history of the two colonies. I have much gratification in 
being able, by Dr. Wood's friendly compliance with my 
request, to lay before the reader information so trustworthy 
and valuable. 

" In the following remarks I do not assume to give more than 
a cursory sketch of those sections of the natural history of 
British Columbia and Vancouver Island which are of most 
interest to the general reader. Separated by a few miles of 
ocean, the Fauna and Flora of both colonies are the same — insular 
position and a less extensive area, however, causing one to be 
sparse in many things which her larger neighbour possesses in 
profusion, while again the ocean-washed shores of the western 

* Journal of Mv. David Douglas. f Pemberton, p. 20. 



414 SKETCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. Chap. XIII. 

side of Vancouver Island are rich in resources which British 
Columbia possesses less abundantly. As I am personally better 
acquainted with Vancouver Island, and as less is known of it 
than of British Columbia, I will in a great measure confine my 
remarks to the former, asking the reader to remember, however, 
that, unless the contrary is indicated when speaking of either 
colony, I include both. 

" I pass over the First and Second Orders of Mammals (the first 
embracing the peculiar province of the Ethnologist ; the second, 
or monkey-like animals, not being represented in these colo- 
nies), and commence with the Carnivora, the first and second 
families of which are also sparingly represented. Among them 
are 

" Bears. — The Black Bear, Ursus Americanus, is often seen, and 
falls easily to the gun of the sportsman. Unless when wounded, 
it never attacks man. This bear is chiefly a vegetable feeder. 
The flesh is coarse, but good ; and the skin, which is of little 
marketable value, makes a good rug. 

" The Grizzly, Ursus horribilis, is not found on the Island : it is 
sometimes shot in British Columbia, but its chief home is the 
Eocky Mountains. It is wisest to leave him unmolested. 

" The Eacoon, Ursus lotor, is a harmless animal, easily tamed. 
It feeds mostly on wild fruits and, it is said, small birds. It 
is very numerous in some parts of the coast. 

"Martens. — The yellow-breasted or Pine Marten, Mushda 
martes, and one of a whole colour, are very numerous. Their 
skins are in great request, and are collected in large numbers by 
the fur-traders. A good one is worth from 6s. to 85. The 
Common Mink, Putorius vison, is also found in great numbers. 
The Skunk is also frequently seen. 

" Otters. — The Land Otter, Mustela lutra, is frequently shot 
by the Indians. The skin is of little value. The Sea Otter, 
Enhydra marina, is found throughout the north-west coast of 
Vancouver. The skin is much sought after, being an extremely 
valuable fur. The skin of a full-sized one, undressed, and 
measuring 6 feet, commands the price of thirty blankets — 12/. 
to 14/. They are sent to England, and, when dressed, forwarded 
to China, where the finest sometimes fetch 1 00 dols. (American) 
apiece. 

"Wolves.— Two species of wolf are known to the settlers, and 
are commonly spoken of as the Eed and Black Wolf. They do 
not much frequent the settled districts except in winter, when 



Chap. XIII. SKETCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. 415 

they are very destructive to sheep unless watched. They are 
cowardly, and I have not heard of their ever attacking men. 

"Foxes. — There are two varieties of this animal, the * Red ' 
and ' Silver Fox.' The latter is found in British Columbia, not 
upon the Island. 

" The American Panther or Puma, Felis concolor, is often shot 
upon Vancouver Island. They are destructive to sheep, and 
more particularly to pigs and poultry. When followed, they 
often take refuge in a tree, from whence they are easily shut by 
a common fowling-piece. Dugs will also attack them. They 
are quite harmless to men. 

" Seals. — One variety of Seal frequents the mouth of theFraser 
Eiver, British Columbia, where it may constantly be seen by 
visitors in summer, .seated on a log of wood drifting downwards 
with the current. Another is found on the sea-coasts of Van- 
couver Island, and is shot in some numbers by the Indians, who 
sell their skins to the fur-traders. 

"The Squirrel, Sciurus (<"<u\), is very numerous throughout the 
pine forests, feeding on the cones of the various fir or pine trees. 
They are shot in great numbers for the table, and are excellent 
eating. There are two Or three varieties, smaller and otherwise 
characteristically different from the English species. Ground 
squirrels are also found. 

"The Marmot, Arctomys monax, is kept by the settlers some- 
times as a domestic pet. It is said that rats never stay in a 
house in which a marmot is a resident. 

" The European Bat is very common on the Island in settled 
districts, as much a pest as it is at home. Both rats and mice 
indigenous to the Island and British Columbia exist, but they 
do not require separate mention. 

" The Beaver, Castor Canadiensis, is found on the Island, and 
also in British Columbia. Very few are now trapped for the 
sake of their skins. They are sometimes shot by Europeans for 
the sake of their flesh, which is palatable. The tail, which is 
extremely fat, is considered a delicacy, and somewhat resembles 
the fat of the turtle. A few years ago 780 beaver-skins were 
traded in a twelvemonth at one establishment of the Hudson 
Bay Company on Vancouver Island. The Beaver, as also other 
fur-bearing animals, is said to be increasing in numbers since 
the partial settlement of the western shores of North America, 
from the fact of its being less molested, owing to the employ- 
ment of the ' trapper ' in other pursuits. 



416 SKETCH OF NATUEAL HISTOEY. Chap. XIII. 

" I liave not seen a specimen of either a Hare or Rabbit obtained 
from Vancouver Island. Several varieties of both exist on the 
neighbouring continent and throughout British Columbia. They 
differ much, however, from the English varieties, both in habits 
and appearance. 

" The Canadian Stag or Wapiti, and the Elk, Cervus Canadiensis, 
exist in numbers ; they sometimes equal the horse in stature, 
and I have known them shot, weighing, when dressed, 600 lbs. 
The horns are very handsome. The Black-tailed Deer — the 
Fallow Deer of the Pacific, Cervus Columbianus — are found 
throughout both colonies, and are very numerous on the small 
islets, to which they swim, I believe, to escape the wolves. 
They become, in certain localities, very fat towards autumn, but, 
though excellent, want the flavour of English venison; from 
60 to 80 lbs. is an ordinary weight. The district of Cariboo in 
British Columbia, now so noticeable for its produce of gold, is so 
called from a large deer which frequents its pasturage — pro- 
bably the Eangifer caribou of Audubon. The ' Mountain Goat ' 
and the ' Mountain Sheep ' are found in the mountains of British 
Columbia. I am not aware of their existence on Vancouver 
Island. 

" The American Buffalo, Bos Americanus — has lately found its 
way, it is said, through the Eocky Mountains to the upper 
plains of the Columbia. 

" Cetacea. — With this order of mammals I am little ac- 
quainted. Whales, ' Black-fish,' and Porpoises are common off 
the coast of Vancouver and the inland sea separating it from 
British Columbia. Considerable ingenuity is shown by the 
Indians in the capture of the whale. A seal-skin, prepared so 
as to be air-tight, is attached to a harpoon, the head of which, 
with a short rope made from cedar-bark, can be detached from 
the staff. With this attached to him, the whale is not long 
before he makes his appearance above water, when he is killed 
by spears, great numbers taking part in his destruction. The 
flesh is much esteemed by the natives as food. 

"Birds of Prey, Raptores. — A frequent object met with on 
the coast-shores of both colonies is the White-headed Erne or 
Great Fish Eagle, Falco leucoceplialus. Couples of these birds 
are frequently seen sailing majestically in air, descending occa- 
sionally in graceful circles to their abode in some tall pine-tree 
where their nest is placed. Another common object is the 
American Osprey or Fish Hawk, Pandion CaroUnensis. The Har 



Chap. XIII. SKETCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. 417 

rier and the Sharp -shinned Hawk, with several others, are also 
constantly met with. The * Great Snow Owl,' Nyctea nivea, and 
the Pigmy Owl, Glaucydium gnoma — not so largo as an English 
blackbird — are also found, with several others. 

"ScANSOBES. — In this order occur the Cuckoos. I have not 
seen a specimen on the island or in British Columbia, but their 
note has been heard by myself and others. The Woodpeckers 
are numerous: thus, I may name Pints Harrim ; Sphyrapicus ruber, 
or Bed-breasted Woodpecker; Cdaptis Mexicanus, or Bed-shafted. 

"In . — I have collected three varieties of Humming- 

birds on Vancouver Island. These beautiful little creatures 
make their appearance early in .spring, even before the snow has 
left the plains, buzzing their way from bush to bush in restless 
search of some half-opened blossom. The Indian boys snare 
them in numbers, and, fastening a dozen or more to a stick by 
one loot, bring them oft* alive to the ships for sale. A }\ight 
Hawk — known among settlers as the Mosquito Hawk — bleeds 
upon the island, and makes its appearance on summer evenings. 
A common object along the and the mouths of rivers is 

the Belted Kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon — a much larger, but not so 
handsome a bird as the English Kingfisher. The Flycatchers 
have several representatives. The Singing Birds are few. 
Amongst the Swallows may bo named the Violet green Swallow, 
Hxrundo thalassina* Wrens, Creepers, Nut-hatches, Titmice, Shore 
Larks, Finches, the lied Crossbill, Curvirostra Americana, the 
Snow Bunting, Sparrows, the Bed-winged Blackbird. Among 
the crows may be named the American Haven, the Fish Crow, 
the Common Crow. Jays, Cyanura steUeri. 

" BasoRES. — Pigeons and Doves are represented in both colo- 
nies. A more numerous family exist in the Grouse : the Dusky 
Grouse, Petras obscurus ; the Blue Grouse of settlers ; the Hulled 
Grouse, Bonasa umbellus ; and the AYillow Grouse, Lagopus 
albus, are found on Vancouver Island in immense numbers, 
and also in British Columbia, which has several other varie- 
ties, — the Sage Cock, the Sharp-tailed Grouse, the Prairie Hen, 
and Ptarmigan : all of these are excellent eating, but are too 
easily shot to afford much amusement to an English sports- 
man. The Blue and the Huffed Grouse roost on trees during the 
day. when not sunning themselves on some hillock or prostrate 
trunk of a tree, where their ' drum' is loudly heard. The Blue 
Grouse reaches the weight of A\ lbs. ; it may often be seen 
perched on the topmost branch of some tall pine-tree, from 

2 E 



418 SKETCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. Chap. XIII. 

whence he refuses to move for repeated charges from an ordinary 
fowling-piece, and is only "to be brought down by a rifle. As 
the country becomes cleared, their habits will probably change, 
and Vancouver Island will be as noticeable for good sport as 
Scotland. 

" Grallatores. — The Great Blue Heron or Crane, Ardea herodias, 
is frequently seen and shot. In the sub-order GraUce may be 
enumerated Golden Plover ; Kill-deer ; King Plover ; the Surf 
Bird, Aphriza virgata ; Bachman's Oyster-catcher, Hcematopus 
niger, and Turnstone ; Wilson's Snipe, or English Snipe ; Grey 
Snipe ; Jack Snipe ; Sandpipers ; and Sanderlings. 

" Natatores. — Swans are often shot on the lakes of Vancouver 
Island and British Columbia ; and on the approach of winter 
myriads of Geese arrive : among these may be named the Snow 
Goose, Anser hyperboreus ; the White-fronted Goose, Anser gambelii ; 
the Canada Goose, Bernicla Canadiensis ; the Brant Goose. The 
Canada Goose is often shot 17 lbs. in weight. The Ducks are 
innumerable. Amongst them are found the Mallard, Anas boschas ; 
Black Duck, Anas obscura ; Pintail, Dafila acuta; Green-winged 
Teal, Nettion Carolinensis ; the Shoveller, or Spoonbill, Spatula 
clypeata ; American Widgeon, Mareca Americana; the Summer 
Duck, Aix sponsa ; the Scaup Duck, Fulioc marila ; Canvas-back, 
Aytliya vallisneria ; the Golden Eye, Bucephala Americana, and 
albeota or Bume-head ; the Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus torquatus 
Amongst the Sea Ducks are the Velvet Duck, Melanetta velvetina ; 
the Surf Duck, Pelionetta perspicillata ; the Scoter, Oidemia 
Americana. Among the Fishing Ducks is the Goosander, Mergus 
Americanus ; the Bed-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator ; the 
Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus ; and I believe a fourth 
which is not named. In the sub-order Gaum, I may mention the 
Sooty Albatross, Diomedia fuliginosa ; and two or three Petrels. 
Among the Gulls, the Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens ; 
the Herring Gull, Larus argentatus ; the Western Gull, Larus 
occidentalis. Among the Cormorants, the Violet-green Cormorant, 
Graculus violaceus, is extremely common. In the family of Divers 
are the great Northern Diver, Colymbus glacialis ; the Black- 
throated, Colymbus arcticus ; the Pacific, Colymbus Pacificus ; and 
the Bed-throated, Colymbus septentrionalis. The tufted Puffin , 
Mormon cirrhata ; the Horn-billed Guillemot, Cerorhina monocerata, 
are numerous on the sea-coasts of Vancouver and its adjacent 
islands, and the sea around them is often literally alive with the 
Sea Dove or Dovekie. 



Chap. XIII. SKETCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. 419 

" The Rbptilia do not require an extended notice. Several 
varieties of Snakes are met with, but they are not, I believe, 
venomous. Lizards and Frogs are numerous. The Bull-frog in 
summer is rather a nuisance by his loud croakings. The Indians 
are partial to snakes as an article of diet; immediately they 
are caught they are skinned and eaten by them, as a stick of 
celery is eaten by a schoolboy, and with as little cooking. 

" Fjbhes. — The fish of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 
require a more extended experience than mine to do justice 
to them. I cannot, however, but think that, among the domestic 
resources of both colonies, few can equal their value. The 
seas and large inlets, the bays and rivers, are literally alive 
with fish. Salmon, Cod, Halibut, Sturgeon, Herring, Trout, 
Smelt, Sea Perch, Hake, Sardines, Anchovy, Flat. Fish, Dog Fish 
(highly useful for oil), and the Iloulakan, so called by the Indians ; 
the latter, the sizo of a herring, makes its appearance with un- 
erring regularity in various parts of the coast for a few days 
only, and is taken in shoals ; it is so fat on its arrival as to defy 
ordinary cooking, melting by the heat ; it is pressed for oil by 
the natives, who trade with it in British Columbia with the 
inland tribes, and is also dried, in which state, lighted at one 
end, it makes a capital torch, and is constantly used as such by 
the Indians. The oil has been used medicinally in place of cod- 
liver oil, and I have seen the happiest effects from its administra- 
tion* So numerous are the Salmon, that rivers become offensive 
from the putrid bodies of those who have failed to make their 
way up tho c falls ' of the various rivers. Tons' weight of Halibut 
may be caught in a day. The shores are thickly covered with 
Acorn-shells, Limpets, Muscles, Clams, &c. Crabs of many varieties 
are found everywhere, some edible, and of large size. The Shrimp 
is a constant visitor in tho dredge, and Prawns are extensively 
caught in the neighbourhood of Victoria, Vancouver Island. 
Every pool is lined with brilliant Sea Anemones ; and nearly 
throughout the year is the sea lightened with Medusae. 

" Flora. — In the magnificent work of Sir W. J. Hooker, 
' Flora Boreali Americana,' may be found an epitome of the 
botany of these colonies. I will confine my observations, there- 
fore, to an enumeration of the Natural Orders, which contain 
most of the Flora of interest to the settler. 

" Order 1. Nympliceacece, Water-lilies. 

11 ,,2. Ranunculacece, Crowfoots. 

" ,, 5. Crucifercu, Cressworts. 

2e2 



420 SKETCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. Chap. XIII. 

" Order 7. Berberidacece, Berberry worts. The ' Oregon 
Grape ' of the settlers is a small shrub very common in the woods ; 
it bears a yellow flower, and produces a cluster of berries of a 
deep blue colour, of a pleasant acid, astringent taste. The root 
yields one of the best known yellow dyes. 

" Order 8. Violacece, Violetworts. 

" ,, 16. Ceracece, Maples. The Maple grows to a large 
size, and is extensively found ; it produces by the changing hues 
of its foliage a handsome object in the somewhat monotonous 
landscape of the colonies : its wood is very inferior. 

" Order 17. Geraniacece, Cranesbills. 

" ,, 21. Bhamnacece, Ehamnads. 

" ,, 22. Fabacece, Leguminous Plants. Representatives of 
their order are extensively found. The Blue Lupine, Purple 
Clover, and several varieties of Vetch are everywhere growing- 
wild as large and strong as any I have seen cultivated in other 
places. 

" Order 23. Bosacece, Eoseworts. Species of this order are 
also very numerous : in the spring every plain is covered with 
the Wild Eose and Sweet Brier : in the sub-order are Wild 
Apples, the Mountain Ash (scarce), the Service Tree, Bird Cherry 
or Cluster Cherry. 

" Order 28. Grossulariacece, Currantworts. "Wherever the 
ground is clear abound Currant and Gooseberry bushes of endless 
varieties ; the Flowering Currant, Eibes sanguinea, is a beautiful 
object in the ' bush.' 

" Order 30. Apiacece, Umbellifers, the Conium. 

" ,, 32. Comacece, Cornels. The Dogwood tree is very 
common, and makes a handsome object for the shrubbery. In 
this order is the ' La Broue ' plant of the Canadian voyageurs : 
it bears a small red berry which is dried and stored for use. 
Mixed in small portions with a little water it is after standing 
whisked up with branches ; it gradually expands and becomes con- 
verted into a substance resembling ' trifle,' which is eaten with 
sugar sifted over it. 

" Order 33. Caprifoliacece, Caprifoils. Two varieties of Elder 
tree very common. 

" Order 38. Campamdacece, Bellworts. The Campanula. 

" ,, 39. JEricacece, Heath worts. In a Sub-order are the 
Cranberries. These shrubs abound eveiywhere, and yield a 
most delicious berry ; there are many varieties — from one, the 
Oxycoccus palustris, I have known of 100 barrels being collected. 



Chap. XIII. SKETCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. 421 

the produce of one season. The berries do not require putting 
down, keeping remarkably well simply immersed in water. The 
Gualtheria shallon, the ' Salal ' of the Indians, is a common 
shrub : it bears a handsome blossom and a bunch of large deep 
purple berries, much used by the natives, who make it into cakes 
which they dry in the sun for winter use ; it is also used in the 
households of settlers for pies and puddings, but is not equal to 
the Cranberries. 

" Order 41. Gentianacece, Gentianworts. 

" „ 5G. Urticacece, Nettleworts. A wild Nettle, the 
Urtica cannabina, is used by the Indians to make hemp ; it is 
extremely strong, and is manufactured by them info twine, rope, 
and nets. 

" Order 57. Corylacecc, Mastworts. The Oak is abundant in 
outhern part of Vancouver Island; there is none in British 
Columbia, I am told by Mr. Anderson, of the Hudson Bay 
Company, except a few small specimens on the eastern borders of 
the Rapids above Fort Yale. The Hazel Nut is common in 
British Columbia. 

11 Order 58. Saliacecv, Willowworts. Willows grow on all low 
and swampy places ; the ' Cotton Wood ' Poplar and the Aspen 
tree. 

" Order 59. Bctulacecc, Birchworts. The common Birch is of 
small size to the southward ; in the northern parts of British 
Columbia it is known as the ' ( anoe Birch,' is abundant and 
of large size, and is hard and durable (Mr. Anderson). The 
common Alder grows to a large size, and is a useful wood for 
turners. 

" Order 61. PinacecB, Conifers. In this Order are found Yew 
trees, Juniper bush, the Scotch Fir, Spruce Fir, the Douglas Pine ; 
the White Pine of commerce, Pinus Weymouthii; Canada Pine, 
Balsam Pine, the ■ Eed Cedar,' and the ' Y'ellow Cedar.' The 
most remarkable point in the forest-trees of both colonies is the 
profusion of trees of this order, and the immense height and size 
they attain. The Douglas Pine can be obtained anywhere 200 ft. 
in length, and I have seen trees that would square 45 in. for 90 ft. 
This pine makes the best spars for ships. The 'White Pine,' I 
am told by those preparing it, is equal to that of the Eastern 
States of America. From the bark of the ' Eed ' and Yellow 
Cedar, articles of wearing apparel, ropes, &c, are made: the 
plank of the latter tree yields a close-grained beautiful wood ; 
specimens of it made into boxes have been sent to the Inter- 
national Exhibition. 



422 CLIMATE. Chap. XIII. 

" Order 68. Liliacece, Lijyworts. The Camassia esculenta, the 
Camass of the Indians, is very common : the bulbs, being 
placed in shallow pits, are covered with a thick layer of dried 
grass damped with water, a thin layer of earth is placed above 
it, and a fire made over the pit. A gradual process of steaming 
goes on, perhaps for several days : the bulbs when removed are 
found mellowed, their colour changed to a light brown, and 
they contain a large portion of saccharine matter. They are 
then dried and stored for winter food. 

" Order 73. Graminacece, Grasses. Varieties of nearly every 
grass which grows in England, and many which do not, are found 
in these Colonies : the Wild Oat is as vigorous a plant here as 
the one cultivated at home. I have seen ' Timothy Grass ' grown 
on the Island 8 ft. in height. 

" I pass over the Ferns, Mosses, Lichens, the Fungi, and Sea- 
weeds, with the brief remark that they abound everywhere, the 
first in quantities somewhat troublesome to the agriculturist. 

" Charles Bigland Wood. 

" H.M.S. ' Hecate,- Victoria, Vancouver Island, 
« July, 1862." 

It would be useless for general purposes to give a mass of 
statistics with regard to the climate of British Columbia and 
Vancouver Island. In a country embracing so many hundred 
miles of latitude there is of course great difference of tempe- 
rature. The climate of Vancouver Island may be said gene- 
rally to be about the same as that of the south of England. 
Daring the last winter, 1861-2, it has been unusually severe. 
In the four winters that I passed at Esquimalt Harbour we 
had a great deal of rain, very little snow, while the ice on 
the ponds bore skaters for about a fortnight each year, the 
thermometer being hardly ever below 25° Fahr. The south 
part of British Columbia is, perhaps, a little colder. This 
winter the Lower Fraser has been frozen over so as entirely 
to impede navigation; but I believe this has never been 
known before, and it certainly has only occurred once since 
1856. Steamers were able to go to Langley every winter 
I was in the country, and were only prevented ascending to 
Fort Hope by the shallowness of the stream. It will also 



Chap. XIII. CLIMATE. 423 

be remembered that I ascended the river to Fort Yale in 
February, 1859, without being seriously impeded by ice. 

The fall of snow even during the late extraordinarily severe 
winter appears to have been very partial. The thermometer 
at Westminster stood at 8°, 10°, and 12° below zero, and 17° 
or 18° at Forts Hope and Yale. The deep snow at these 
latter places, however, made them less cold than at Lilloett, 
where there was only an inch or two of snow, and where the 
cold is described as having been intensely severe. 

Further north, at Cariboo, the winter of 18G0-1 was even 
more severely felt. On the night of the 1st of December 
the mercury of the thermometer congealed, and on the 25th 
and 2Gth of January it is said to have stiffened before sun- 
down, with the sun shining full upon it. Two thermometers 
at William Lake are reported in the Victoria papers to have 
burst from the effects of the cold, and many instances of 
severe frost-bites, &c., are given. In judging of the severity 
of the season from the reports of the miners, however, it 
must be remembered that their clothing and habitations 
would ill fit them to endure with patience the hardships of 
an ordinary winter even in England. 

In a recent book on British Columbia one of the many 
objections urged against the country is said to arise from the 
danger of Indian aggression upon the colonists. I cannot 
conclude these remarks without giving this assertion an 
emphatic contradiction. My own experience — as the reader 
will have gathered — has led me to form an exactly opposite 
opinion of the temper and disposition of the Indians ; and lest 
it should be thought that my official position gave me when tra- 
velling alone among them a protection which would be wanting 
to the ordinary colonist, I give the following quotation upon 
the subject from the letter of a young English clergyman 
whom I have lately had the pleasure of meeting. I withhold 
his name only because his letter was not intended for that 
public use which I venture to make of it. I should add that 



424 CLIMATE. Chap. XIII. 

the writer had never visited an English colony until he went 
to British Columbia four years ago : — 

" My experience leads me to say, what I find most persons 
confirm, that, so far as safety is concerned, there is far less 
risk in travelling in British Columbia than in many parts of 
England. Nothing can exceed the order of the country, and 
the marked absence of serious crime either on the part of the 
whites or Indians." 

This was written after a journey of more than 500 miles in 
the interior, alone or with some fellow-clergymen. Those 
who desire further evidence of the kindly disposition of the 
Indians will find it abundantly in the extracts of the Bishop's 
Journal, published by the Columbian Missionary Society. 

I have more than once spoken of Esquimalt as being 
admirably adapted for a naval station and dockyard. I wish 
to add that, important as this is for our squadron in the 
Pacific, I think it would be still more so for the squadron 
in the Chinese waters. Our ships there, which are sometimes 
almost disabled by sickness, could reach the healthy climate 
of Vancouver in six weeks, and might, if required, be relieved 
by vessels from the Pacific squadron. In 1859 the ' Tribune ' 
and ' Pylades ' were ordered across from China ; they arrived 
at Esquimalt with crews greatly debilitated, and all hands a 
good deal below par. They remained about a year there, and 
left, I believe, with the crews of both ships in perfect health. 
I may also mention that the healthy appearance of our crew 
was a subject of general remark to all ships arriving on the 
station. 

The climate is said to be unfavourable for people who have 
previously been subject to rheumatism. The officers and 
men of the i Plumper,' however, who lived constantly in 
camp, and were much exposed, never suffered seriously from 
this complaint. 

In concluding this rough summary of the resources of the 
colonies, let me repeat, that in our North American posses- 



Chap. XIII. PROSPECTS FOR THE SETTLER. 425 

sions we have, independently of its mineral wealth, a country 
of immense extent and natural beauty, of — so far as it lias 
been tested — invariable fertility, and with a climate closely 
resembling our own. Against these advantages, however, 
it must be remembered that all that is required to develop 
and utilise the many natural advantages of the colonies has yet 
to be done, and that for many years to come stout hearts and 
strong hands will find abundant occupation in accomplishing 
this work. He who is not possessed of these requisites of 
a bush-life is as unfit for British Columbia as for any other 
colony. But the man whose heart does not fail him at the 
prospect of hard living and harder work, will find there 
welcome and plenty awaiting him. 



426 SUPPLY OF WATER, Chap. XIV, 



CHAPTEE XIV. 



Mineral wealth of British Columbia, Summary of — Conclusion. 

I have left myself but small space or time to speak of that 
which is undoubtedly the mainspring of British Columbia — 
its immense and apparently inexhaustible yield of gold. At 
starting, however, a few remarks upon the various methods of 
working mining-claims at the gold-fields may be found of 
interest to the general reader. 

As a rule, picking up gold is a mere delusive figure of 
speech. It has to be dug and worked for hardly, with 
primitive appliances often ; sometimes with all the resources 
of modern mechanism. Before attempting to describe shortly 
the various processes of extracting the precious mineral, I 
may say that they all require the aid of water and, with rare 
exceptions, quicksilver. It is the abundant natural supply of 
water that gives British Columbia so great an advantage 
over California. The country is, as I have before said, and 
as a glance at the map will show, intersected in every direc- 
tion by streams and rivers, while lakes of various size abound, 
the majority of which may be easily adapted to the purposes 
of mining. The very height of the hills also, which may be 
in other respects a disadvantage, proves in this case of use to 
the miner who can divert to his purpose the torrents which 
course down their sides. In California the want of water has 
been much felt, and the methods resorted to for meeting it 
illustrate as much as anything else in that marvellous country 
the enterprise and spirit of the American settler. In Grass 
Valley, Nevada county, one of the richest quartz districts in 
California, which I visited in 1860, and where 40 steam-mills 



Chap. XIV. « PROSPECTING." 427 

were then at work, every drop of water used had to be brought 
by " flumes," from a distance of more than 40 miles ! 

Quicksilver has as yet always been found to exist in gold 
countries. California is abundantly supplied. It has been 
discovered in several places in Columbia ; but as yet it has 
been found cheaper to procure it from California than to 
work it there. 

In 18G0 I made the tour of some of the richest diggings 
in California, with the view of seeing the various appliances 
in use there. In describing these various methods of gold 
working, I shall have to speak of several not yet in use in 
Columbia ; some of them, indeed, being but newly introduced 
into California. 

The first task of the miner attracted to a new gold country 
or district, by the report of its wealth, is "prospecting." 
For this purpose every miner, however light his equipment 
may otherwise be, carries with him a " pan " and a small 
quantity of quicksilver; the latter to be used only where the 
gold is very fine. Very little experience enables a miner to 
detect that " colour " of the earth which indicates the presence 
of the metallic sand in which gold is found. Wherever, as 
he travels through the new country, he sees this, he stops 
at once to wash a pan of dirt, and thus test its value. 
Although many diggings are found away from the bank of 
a stream, the river-sides are the places where gold is 
generally first looked for and worked. In saying this, of 
course I 'except the gold in quartz, of which I shall have 
to speak hereafter. The spots first searched are generally 
those upon the bank of a river where the deposit consists of 
a thick, stiff mud or clay, with stones. In some cases this 
is covered with sand, so that the surface has to be removed 
before the " pay dust" is revealed. All these workings on 
river-banks are called " bars," and are usually named after 
the prospecter, or from some incident connected with their 
discovery. 



428 TESTING. Chap. XIV- 

When the Prospector comes to dirt which looks as if it 
would pay, he unslings his pan from his back, and proceeds to 
test it. This he effects by filling his pan with the earth, then 
squatting on the edge of the stream, he takes it by the rim, 
dipping it in the water, and giving it a kind of rotary motion 
stirring and kneading the contents occasionally until the whole 
is completely moistened. The larger stones are then thrown 
out, the edge of the pan canted upwards, and a continual 
flow of water made to pass through it until, the lighter portion 
of its contents being washed away, nothing but a few pebbles 
and specks of black metallic sand are left, among which the 
gold, if there is any, will be found. The rotary movement, 
by which the heavier pebbles and bits of gold are kept in the 
centre of the pan, and the lighter earth allowed to pass over 
its edge, requires considerable practice, and an unskilful pro- 
specter will perhaps pass by a place as not being worth 
working that an experienced hand will recognise as very 
rich. The specific gravity of the black sand being nearly 
equal to that of the gold, while wet they cannot be at once 
separated, and the nuggets, if any, being taken out, the pan 
is laid in the sun or by a fire to dry. When dry the lighter 
particles of sand are blown away ; or if the gold is very fine 
it is amalgamated with quicksilver. The miners know by 
practice how much gold in a pan will constitute a rich 
digging, and they usually express the value of the earth as 
" 5/' " 10," or " 15. cent dirt," meaning that each pan so washed 
will yield so much in money. Panning, it may be remarked, 
never gives the full value of the dirt, as may be imagined 
from the roughness of the process. If the gold should be 
in flakes, a good deal is likely to be lost in the process, as it 
will not then sink readily to the bottom of the pan, and is 
more likely to be washed away with the sand. In panning, 
as well as, indeed, in all the other primitive processes of 
washing gold, the superior specific gravity of this metal over 
others, except platinum, is the basis of operations ; all depend- 






Chap. XIV. « ROCKER " OR " CRADLE." 429 

ing upon its settling at the bottom of whatever vessel may 
chance to be used. 

The " pan " is hardly ever used except for prospecting, so 
that the " rocker " or " cradle " may be described as the 
most primitive appliance used in gold-washing. In the 
winter of 1859, when I first went up the Fraser, the rocker 
was the general machine — the use of sluices not having then 
begun. It was used in California as early as 1848, being- 
formed rudely of logs, or the trunk of a tree. And yet, 
ungainly as they were, they commanded, before saw-mills 
were established in the country, enormous prices. 

The rocker, then, consists of a box 3J to 4 feet long, about 
2 feet wide, and 1-J deep. The top and one end of this box 
are open, and at the lower end the sides slope gradually 
until they reach the bottom. At its head is attached a 
closely-jointed box with a sheet-iron bottom, pierced with 
holes sufficiently large to allow pebbles to pass through. 
This machine is provided with rockers like a child's cradle, 
while within cleets are placed to arrest the gold in its passage. 
One of the miners then, the cradle being placed by the 
water's edge, feeds it with earth, while another rocks and 
supplies it with water. The dirt to be washed is thrown into 
the upper iron box, and a continual stream of water being 
poured in, it is disintegrated, the gold and pebbles passing 
down to the bottom, where the water is allowed to carry the 
stones away, and the cleets arrest the precious metal. 

When the gold is very fine I have seen a piece of cloth 
laid along the bottom box, covered with quicksilver to arrest 
the gold. When a party of miners work with rockers, they 
divide the labour of rocking, carrying water, if necessary, and 
digging equally among themselves. The rocker is the only 
apparatus that can be at all successfully worked single- 
handed ; and rough as it appears and really is, I have seen 
men make 30 to 50 dollars a day with it, while far greater 



430 THE " LONG TOM." Chap. XIY. 

sums have been known to be realized by it. In these 
remarks I have assumed that my readers generally are aware 
that quicksilver arrests whatever gold passes over it, and, 
forming an amalgam with it, retains it until it is retorted 
from it. In washing gold, quicksilver has to be used always, 
except where the mineral is found very large and coarse. 
Even then the earth is generally made to pass over some 
quicksilver before it escapes altogether, in order to preserve 
the finer particles. I may here mention that in a " sluice " 
of ordinary size 40 or 50 lbs. of quicksilver are used daily ; 
in a rocker perhaps 8 or 10 lbs. Of course the same quick- 
silver can be used over and over again when the gold has 
been retorted from it. 

The first improvement on the " Rocker " was by the use of 
a machine called the " Long Tom." This, though common 
enough in California, I never saw used in British Columbia. 
It consists of a shallow trough, from 10 to 20 feet long, and 
16 inches to 2 feet wide. One end is slightly turned up, shod 
with iron, and perforated like the sieve of a rocker. The 
trough is placed at an incline, sieve-end downwards. A stream 
of water is turned into the upper end of the Tom, and several 
hands supply it with earth, which finds its way to the sieve, 
carrying along with it the gold, which it washes or disintegrates 
in its passage. Immediately beneath the sieve a box is placed, 
in which are nailed cleets, or as they are more generally termed 
" Biffles," which catch the gold as in the rocker. When the 
gold is fine another box containing quicksilver is placed at 
the end of the rifne, to catch the gold which passes it. 

A man always attends at the end to clear away the " Tail- 
ings," or earth discharged from the machine, and also to stir 
up the earth in the Tom, and keep the sieve clear of stones, 
an iron rake being used for the purpose. By the use of the 
"Long Tom," rather than the cradle, a great saving is 
effected ; the work being performed in a much more thorough 



Chap. XIV. " SLUICING." 431 

manner. It is estimated in California that the Tom will 
wash ten times as much earth as a cradle, employing the 
same number of hands. 

The next important method is " Sluicing." This is by far 
the most commonly used both in British Columbia and Cali- 
fornia, employing, I suppose, one-half the mining population 
of both countries. 

Sluicing is, moreover, an operation which can be carried on 
on any scale, from two or three men upon a river bar, to a 
rich company washing away an entire hill by the " Hydrau- 
lic" process. Whatever may be the scale of the operations, 
however, " sluicing " is necessarily connected with a system 
of "flumes," or wooden aqueducts of greater or less extent, 
either running along the back of a river-bar, and supplying 
the sluices at it, or cobwebbing and intersecting the whole 
country as in California. I have seen flumes on the Shady 
( reek Canal there, conveying an enormous stream of water 
across a deep ravine at the height of 100 to 200 feet. 

" Sluice-boxes " are of various sizes, but generally from 2 to 
3 feet long, by about the same width. These are fitted closely 
together at the ends, so as to form a continuous strongly- 
built trough of the required length, from 15 or 20 to several 
thousand feet, their make and strength depending entirely 
upon the work they have to do. I will here describe sluicing 
upon a moderate scale, as I found it in practice at Hill's Bar 
upon the Fraser during my visit there in 1858. 

This bar was taken up in claims early in 1858, its size 
being then about 1J mile, although it has since been 
much extended, the richness of the soil proving, I believe, 
greater as it is ascended. In this place, then, a flume was 
put up, carrying the water from a stream which descended 
the mountain at its southern end along the whole length of 
the bar, and behind those claims which were being worked. 
From this flume each miner led a sluice down towards the 
river ; his sluice being placed at such an angle that the water 



432 "FLUMES." Chap. XIV. 

would run through it with sufficient force to carry the earth, 
but not, of course, the gold with it. Its strength, indeed, is so 
regulated as to allow time for the riffles and quicksilver to 
catch the gold as it passes. The supply of water from the 
flume to each sluice is regulated by a gate in the side of the 
flume, which is raised for so much per inch. The price paid 
for water of course varies greatly with the cost of timber, 
engineering difficulties of making the flume, &c. It is 
ordinarily established by the miners, who meet and agree 
to pay any individual or company who may undertake the 
work a certain rateable rental for the water. Their con- 
struction, indeed, is one of the most profitable of colonial 
speculations. The flume I am now speaking of cost 7000 or 
8000 dollars, and each miner paid a dollar an inch for water 
daily. Since that time it has become much cheaper, and 
the usual price is about 25 cents (Is.) an inch, the width of 
the gate being 1 foot. The sluice-boxes here were very 
slight, about inch-plank, as the dirt which had to pass through 
them was not large. In the bottom of each box was a 
grating, made of strips of plank nailed crosswise to each 
other, but not attached to the box like the riffles. In the 
interstices of these gratings quicksilver is spread to catch the 
fine gold, the coarse being caught by the grating itself. The 
sluice is placed on tressels or legs, so as to raise it to the 
height convenient for shovelling the earth in ; the water is 
then let on, and several men feed the sluice with earth from 
either side, while one or two with iron rakes stir it up or pull 
out any large stones which might break the gratings. 

Such is the working of ordinary sluices ; but sluiciug is also 
inseparable from the grandest of all mining operations — viz., 
" Hydraulic Mining." Hydraulic ruining, as I witnessed it at 
Timbuctoo in California, is certainly a marvellous operation. 
A hill of moderate size, 200 to 300 feet high, may often be 
found to contain gold throughout its formation, but too thinly 
to repay cradle-washing, or even hand-sluicing, and not lying 



Chap. XIV. HYDRAULIC MINING. 433 

in any veins or streaks which could be worked by tunnelling 
or ground-sluicing. 

A series of sluice-boxes are therefore constructed and put 
together, as described above ; but in this case, instead of 
being of light timber, they are made of the stoutest board 
that can possibly be got, backed by cross-pieces, &c., so as to 
be of sufficient strength to allow the passage of any amount 
of earth and stones forced through them by a flood of water. 
The boxes are also made shorter and wider, being generally 
about 14 inches long by 3 to 4 feet wide — the bottoms, 
instead of the gratings spoken of above, being lined with 
wooden blocks like wood-pavement, for resisting the friction 
of the debris passing over it, the interstices being filled with 
quicksilver to catch the fine gold. The sluice, thus prepared, 
is firmly placed in a slanting position near the foot of the 
hill intended to be attacked. 

To shovel a mass of several million tons of earth into these 
sluices would prove a tedious and profitless operation. In its 
stead, therefore, hydraulic mining is called into play, by 
which the labour of many men is performed by water, and 
the hill worn down to the base by its agency. The operation 
consists of simply throwing an immense stream of water upon 
the side of the hill with hose and pipe, as a fire-engine plays 
upon a burning building. The water is led through gutta- 
percha or canvas hoses, 4 to 6 inches in diameter, and is 
thrown from a considerable height above the scene of opera- 
tions. It is consequently hurled with such force as to eat into 
the hill-side as if it were sugar. At the spot where I saw this 
working in operation to the greatest advantage they were 
using four horses, which they estimated as equal to the power 
of a hundred men with pick and shovel. There is more 
knowledge and skill required in this work than would at 
first sight be supposed necessary. The purpose of the man 
who directs the hose is to undermine the surface as well as 
wash away the face of the hill. He therefore directs the 

2f 



434 EXPENSE OF WATER SUPPLY. Chap. XIV. 

water at a likely spot until indications of a " cave-in " become 
apparent. Notice being given, the neighbourhood is de- 
serted. The earth far above cracks, and down conies all the 
face of the precipice with the noise of an avalanche. By this 
means a hill several hundred feet higher than the water 
could reach may easily be washed away. 

The greatest difficulty connected with hydraulic work is to 
get a sufficient fall for the water — a considerable pressure 
being, of course, necessary. At Timbuctoo, for instance, a 
large river flowed close by, but its waters at that point were 
quite useless from being too low ; the consequence was, that 
a flume had to be led several miles, from a part of the river 
higher up, so as to gain the force required. Supplying water 
for this and similar mining purposes has, therefore, proved a 
very successful speculation in California. I am not able to 
give the exact length of the longest flumes constructed 
there, but I know that it has in some cases been found neces- 
sary to bring water from the Sierra Nevada, and to tap 
streams that have their rise there. It is not at all un- 
common to bring it from a distance of 50 miles, and in some 
cases it has been conveyed as far again. 

The expense of this is, of course, enormous, and it is in 
the ready supply of water at various levels, that the work 
of mining in British Columbia will be found so much more 
easy than in California. So scarce is it there, indeed, that 
it sometimes has been found cheaper to pack the earth on 
mules and carry it to the river-side than to bring the water 
to the gold-fields. 

The difficulty of obtaining water in the early days of gold- 
digging in California gave rise to a very curious method of 
extracting the mineral, which, I believe, was only practised 
by the Mexicans. Two men would collect a heap of earth 
from some place containing grain-gold, and pound it as fine 
as possible. It was then placed in a large cloth, like a 
sheet, and winnowed — the breeze carrying away the dust, 



Chap. XIV. " GROUND-SLUICING." 435 

while the heavier gold fell back into the cloth. " Bellows 
were sometimes used for this purpose also. 

While upon this subject, I will take the opportunity of 
describing the most common appliance for raising water 
from a river for the use of a sluice on its bank. The ma- 
chinery used is known as the " flutter-wheel," and the tra- 
veller in a mining country will see them erected in every 
conceivable manner and place. It is the same in principle 
and very similar in appearance to our common " undershot- 
wheel," consisting of a large wheel 20 to 30 feet in diameter, 
turned by the force of the current. The paddles are fitted 
with buckets made to fill themselves with water as they pass 
under the wheel, which they empty as they turn over into a 
trough placed convenient for the purpose and leading to the 
sluice. In a river with a rapid current, like the Fraser, they 
can be made to supply almost any quantity of water. 

There is a kind of intermediate process between that which 
I have just described and tunnelling or " koyote-ing," par- 
taking in a measure of both. This is called "ground- 
sluicing," and is quite distinct from " sluicing." The reader 
will better understand this process if I speak of " koyote-ing," 
and " ground-sluicing " together, the latter having become a 
substitute for the former. 

As the miners in California began to gain experience in 
gold-seeking, they found that at a certain distance beneath 
the surface of the earth a layer of rock existed, on which 
the gold, by its superior specific gravity, had gradually 
settled. Experience soon taught the miner to discard the 
upper earth, which was comparatively valueless, and to seek 
for gold in the cracks or "pockets" of this bed-rock, or 
in the layer of earth or clay covering it. The depth of this 
rock is very various ; sometimes it crops out at the surface, 
while at other times it is found 150 to 200 feet down. Where 
it is very deep, recourse must be had to regular shaft-sinking 
and tunnelling, as in a coal or copper mine ; but when the 

2 f2 



436 "KOYOTE" TUNNELLING. Chap. XIV. 

rock is only 20 or 30 feet beneath the surface, tunnelling on 
a very small scale, known as " koyote-ing," from its fancied 
resemblance to the burrowing of the small wild-clog common 
to British Columbia and California, is adopted. These little 
tunnels are made to save the expense of shovelling off the 
20 or 30 feet of earth that cover the " pay dirt " on the bed- 
rock, and their extraordinary number gives a very strange 
appearance to those parts of the country w T hich have been 
thoroughly "koyote-ed." I have seen a hill completely 
honeycombed with these burrows, carried through and 
through it, and interlacing in every possible direction. So 
rich is their formation, however, that after they have been 
deserted by the koyote-ers they are still found worth working. 
I remember looking at one in the Yuba county in California 
which appeared so completely riddled that the pressure of a 
child's foot would have brought it down. Upon my expres- 
sing my conviction that anyhow that seemed worked out, a 
miner standing by at once corrected me. " Worked out, sir ?" 
he said — " not a bit of it ! If you -come in six months, you'll 
not see any hill there at all, sir. A company are going to 
bring the water to play upon it in a few days." " Will it 
pay well, do you suppose ?" " All pays about here, sir," was 
the quick reply ; " they'll take a hundred dollars each 
a-day." 

The Koyote tunnels are only made sufficiently high for the 
workman to sit upright in them. They are generally carried 
through somewhat stiffish clay, and are propped and supported 
with wooden posts, but, as may be imagined in the case of 
such small apertures extending for so great a length as some 
of them do, they are very unsafe. Not unfrequently they 
" cave in " without the slightest warning. Sometimes, too, 
the earth settles down upon the bed-rock so slowly and 
silently, that the poor victims are buried alive unknown to 
their companions without. 

The danger of this work and its inefficiency for extracting 



Chap. XIV. MINING IN RIVER-BEDS. 437 

the gold, much of which was lost in these dark holes, gave 
rise, as the agency of water became more appreciated, to 
" ground-sluicing." This consists in directing a heavy stream 
of water upon the bank which is to be removed, and, with the 
aid of pick and shovel, washing the natural surface away and 
bringing the " pay-streak " next the bed-rock into view. 

Before proceeding to the subject of quartz-crushing, it will 
be well perhaps to give the reader some further idea of the 
great extent of those mining operations which, begun by a few 
adventurers, have become a regularly organised system, carried 
on by wealthy and powerful companies. As a striking monu- 
ment of their courage and the extent of their resources, I would 
instance the fact of their having diverted large rivers from 
their channels so as to lay their beds dry for mining purposes. 
This has been done at nearly every bend or shallow in the 
numerous streams of California, and will doubtless be imitated 
in Columbia ere long. The largest of these operations that I 
ever saw was near Auburn, a large town in Placer county, on 
the American river. 

Sometimes the water can be brought in a strongly-built 
flume from above, and carried by a long box over the old bed 
of the river ; at other times a regular canal has to be made and 
dams constructed upon a very large scale. The result is that 
the bed of the river is laid dry, when its every crevice and 
pocket is carefully searched for the gold which the water has 
generally brought down from the bases of the hills and the 
bars higher up the stream. These operations are frequently 
so extensive as to occupy several successive seasons before the 
whole is worked, and to employ hundreds of labourers besides 
the individuals composing the company, who usually in such 
an enterprise number fifty or sixty. Sometimes the prema- 
ture approach of the rainy season, and consequent freshets, 
carry away the whole of the works in a night. These works 
occasionally yield immense returns, and it is not unfrequently 
found, on renewing them after the rainy season, that fresh 



438 UNCERTAINTY OF PROCEEDS. Chap. XIV. 

deposits of gold have taken place, almost equal in value to 
the first. On the other hand, no amount of judgment can 
select with any degree of certainty a favourable spot for 
"jamming" or turning a river, and, after months of hard 
labour, the bed when laid bare may prove entirely destitute 
of gold deposits. The ]ong space of still water below a series 
of rapids will sometimes be found in one spot to contain 
pounds of gold, while in another the workers who have selected 
that portion of the river above the rapids will find themselves 
in the paying place. 

All gold operations, indeed, depend very much upon chance 
for success. No one can ever calculate with any degree of 
certainty on the run of the " lode " underground, or ill the 
"pay streak" near the surface. Thus it is ever a lottery. 
As an instance of this on a large scale, I remember when I 
was at Grass Yalley, " Nevada county," going to see the 
working at the " Black Bridge " tunnel there. The first shaft 
for this tunnel was sunk five years before my visit, and up to 
that time nothing had been taken, though it had been con- 
stantly worked and was nearly 20,000 feet long. It was 
commenced in 1855 by a company, who sunk a shaft nearly 
250 feet, to strike, as they hoped and expected, a lode from 
the opposite side of the valley. The original company con- 
sisted of five men, and in the course of the five years some of 
them gave up and others joined, part of them working at other 
diggings to get money for provisions, tools, &c, to keep their 
firm going. At length, just before my visit, all the original 
projectors, and about three sets of others who had joined at 
different periods, gave the enterprise up as hopeless after 
carrying it, as I have said, nearly four miles. A new company 
then took possession of it and summoned the miners of the 
valley to a consultation. The meeting decided that they had 
not gone deep enough, and the shaft was accordingly sunk 
50 feet lower, when the gold was at once struck. I tried to 
ascertain what had been expended upon this tunnel, but it 



Chap. XIV. FREAKS OF FORTUNE. 439 

had passed through so many hands that it was impossible even 
to estimate it. The gentleman who showed me over it, and 
who was an Englishman and the principal man of Grass 
Valley (Mr. Attwood), said it would cost the new company 
12,000 or 14,000 dollars (3000Z.) before they took out anything 
that would repay them. The recklessness with which money 
is risked and the apparent unconcern with which a man loses 
a large fortune, and the millionaire of to-day becomes a hired 
labourer to-morrow, is one of the most striking characteristics 
of the American in these Western states. It is owing in a 
great degree to the mere accident which gold-working is. 
The effect of this upon society is of course most injurious. 
The poor miner, hobbling along the street of San Francisco 
or Sacramento trying to borrow — for there are no beggars in 
California — money enough to take him back to the mines 
from which ague or rheumatism have driven him a few months 
before, knows that a lucky hit may (liable him in a very short 
time to take the place of the gentleman who passes by him 
in his carriage, and whose capital is very probably floating 
about in schemes, the failure of which will as rapidly reduce 
him to the streets, or send him back again to the mines as a 
labourer. The spirit, too, with which these changes of fortune 
are borne is wonderful. I travelled once in California with a 
man who was on his way to the mines to commence work as 
a labourer for the third time. He told me his story readily : 
it was simple enough. He had twice made what he thought 
would enrich him for life, and twice it had gone in unlucky 
speculations. An Englishman under these circumstances 
would probably have been greatly depressed: not so my 
fellow-traveller. He talked away through the journey cheer- 
fully, describing the country as we passed through it, speaking 
of the past without anything like regret, and calmly hopeful 
for the future. 

To return to the gold-working, however. I have described 
the various processes of extracting it from the earth or the 



440 QUARTZ-CRUSHING. Chap. XIV. 

rock-surface. I come now lastly to the more arduous work 
of collecting it from the rock itself, known as quartz-crushing. 
Some very rich specimens of quartz have been found in 
British Columbia, near Lowhee Creek, Cariboo, and in other 
places. But while the surface-diggings continue to yield such 
rich returns and transport is so dear, it can scarcely be 
expected that quartz-crushing, which requires the use of 
ponderous machinery, will be commenced. The richest 
quartz district in California is Grass Valley, in Xevada county, 
which place, as I have before observed, I visited in 1860. In 
this valley there are forty steam-mills at work, drawing the 
earth from tunnels, crushing quartz, &c. The average value 
of the quartz there is 60 or 70 dollars a ton, though it some- 
times runs as high as 200 dollars per ton. The Helvetia 
mill, which is one of the best, crushes on an average 30 tons 
daily, making therefore nearly 2000 dollars (400?.). The 
quartz is picked or blasted out in the usual way, and then 
conveyed on mules or by tramway to the mill, where it is 
broken by hand into pieces about the size of an egg. 

The machinery is placed under a large shed or wooden 
building of some kind. It consists of a series of heavy 
stampers, made of iron, or wood shod with iron, the lower 
ends of which fit into boxes in which the quartz is placed. 
The stampers are moved by cogs connected with a revolving 
wheel, which lifts them and lets them fall into the boxes. 
The Helvetia mill works thirty-four of these stampers. The 
stamping-boxes are supplied with water by a hose or pipe on 
one side, while at the other side is a hole through which the 
quartz, as it is crushed, passes out in the form of a thick 
white fluid. As it comes out it is received upon a framework, 
placed at such an angle that it passes slowly over it : on this 
frame are several quicksilver riffles, which catch and amal- 
gamate the gold as it glides along. Beyond this again is 
another frame, over which is spread a blanket, which arrests 
any fine particles which escape the quicksilver. Even with 



Chap. XIV. I " RASTRA," OR DRAG. 441 

all this care there is considerable waste, and the " tailings " 
or refuse is generally worth a second washing. No way has 
yet been found of obviating this waste. 

There is a more primitive method of quartz-crushing called 
the " rastra," or drag, which, though it will only crush about 
a ton a day, does its work more perfectly than the stampers. 
For this purpose a circular trough is made, and paved at the 
bottom. In the centre of this an upright post is fixed, with 
a spindle fitted into a frame at the top, so that it can be 
turned round. Through the lower part of this a horizontal 
pole is passed, one end of which plumbs the edge of the 
trough, while the other projects some way beyond it. To the 
short end a couple of heavy stones are attached ; a mule or 
horse being harnessed to the other. The quartz is then put 
into the trough, being first broken up small, and ground by 
the friction of the stones, winch are dragged round by the 
mule. A small stream of water is kept constantly flowing 
into the trough, and quicksilver is sprinkled in at intervals 
to amalgamate with the gold. After a certain time the 
water is turned oft", the entire pavement of the trough taken 
up, and the amalgam carefully collected and retorted. Of 
course these are worked chiefly by parties who do not possess 
sufficient capital to construct steam-mills. 

With respect to the existence of the precious mineral in 
North America, the theory which Sir Eoderick Murchison 
maintains is that the matrix will be found extending the 
whole way along the slopes of the chain of mountains lying 
between the Kocky Mountains and the Coast Kiclge. This 
theory is borne out by the discoveries in Kock Creek and 
Cariboo, which lie in the line attributed to it. All the river 
bars or " placers," as surface-diggings are called, which have 
been worked as yet are undeniably the alluvial deposits 
brought down by the streams on whose banks they are found. 
And nearly all these rivers take their rise in the chain of 
mountains spoken of, which form an almost unbroken line 



442 ESTIMATE OF YIELD. * Chap. X1Y. 

between Eock Creek and Cariboo. The Cariboo Lake and 
some of the rich Cariboo diggings, as Keithley's Creek, 
Cottonwood Kiver, &c., are on the west side of this ridge ; 
while Antler Creek, Canon Creek, and others lie on the east, 
showing that the gold is common to both slopes. This has 
probably tended to make the Eraser River bars much richer 
than they otherwise would have been, as all the small streams 
which rise on the eastern side of these mountains also run 
into the Fraser, which comes up from the southward behind 
them, till, as I have before shown, it is turned southward by 
the height of the land between it and the Peace River. 

The few adventurers who have crossed this barrier to the 
Peace River report all the appearances of an extremely rich 
auriferous region there; and Mr. Nind tells me that it is 
generally believed at Cariboo that the richest diggings will 
be found in that direction. This fact undoubtedly confirms 
Sir R. Murchison's theory, as the Peace River Valley stretches 
northward in the same direction till it meets the Finlay River 
in lat. 56F N. 

It would be simply waste of space to quote the accounts 
of the richness of the gold-fields of British Columbia, given at 
intervals in the journals of the day. New and more startling 
discoveries are being so constantly made, that the marvels of 
one day are always likely to be eclipsed by the still more 
extraordinary reports of the next. We have also yet to re- 
ceive the accounts of this summer's work at the gold-fields. I 
will give, however, from the Times of February 6, 1862, the 
estimate which its correspondent forms of the approximate 
gross yield of gold for 1861 : — 

" It is impossible to give a return of the ' yield ' of gold 
produced by British Columbia in the aggregate with certainty. 
I shall merely attempt an approximation of the gross yield 
from the best data within my reach. 

"It is generally conceded that, including Chinese, there 
were 5000 men engaged in gold-digging this year. The 






Chap. XIV. ESTIMATE OF YIELD. 443 

various Government returns of Customs' duties and of interior 
tolls on roads charged on the passage of merchandise collected, 
justify this assumption, while the miners' licences issued tend 
to corroborate it. The mining population in the Cariboo 
country, including within this division the Forks of Quesnelle 
Kiver (50 miles below) is put down on general testimony 
(of miners, travellers, other residents, and Government re- 
turns) at 1500 men. To work out the earnings of this aggre- 
gate of 5000 miners, I adopt a statement of names and 
amounts, made up from miners' information, of 79 men who 
together took out in Cariboo 926,680 dollars. The general 
opinion of the miners is, that (in addition to the ' lucky ones ' 
who made ' big strikes,' and which I limit to the above number 
of 79) every man who had a claim or a share in a claim made 
from 1000 to 2000 dollars. Of these there were at the least 
400, and taking then- earnings at a medium or average between 
the two sums mentioned — say at 1500 dollars to each — they 
would produce 600,000 dollars. There remain 1021 men to 
be accounted for. Putting their earnings at 7 dollars a day 
each, which is the lowest rate of wages paid for hired labour 
in the Cariboo miDes, and assigning only 107 working days 
as the period of their mining operations during the season, to 
make allowance for its shortness by reason of the distance 
from the different points of departure and of bad weather, 
they would have taken out 764,729 dollars. These several 
sums added would make the yield of Cariboo and Quesnelle 
2,291,409 dollars to 1500 men for the season, by far the 
greater portion, or nearly all, in fact, being from Cariboo ; 
although the north fork of Quesnelle is also very productive 
and so rich as to induce its being worked by fluming this 
winter by about 100 miners, who have remained for the 
purpose. 

" The remaining 3500 of the mining population who worked 
on Thompson's Kiver, the Fraser, from Fort George down- 
wards ; Bridge Kiver, Semilkameen, and Okanagan (very few), 



444 ESTIMATE OF YIELD. Chap. XIY. 

Kock Creek, and all other localities throughout the country, 
I shall divide into two classes : the first to consist of 1500, 
who made 10 dollars a-day for — say 180 days (Sundays thrown 
off), and which would give 2,700,000 dollars for their joint 
earnings ; the second and last class of 2000 men, who were 
not so lucky, I shall assume to have made only 5 dollars each 
a-day for the same period, and which would give 1,800,000 
dollars as the fruit of their united labour. 

"The three last categories, which number 4521 men, 
include the many miners who in Cariboo were making 20 to 
50 dollars a-day each, as well as those who, in various other 
localities, were making from 15 dollars to 100 dollars a-day 
occasionally, so I think my estimate, although not accurate, 
is reasonable and moderate. The Government people think 
I have rather understated the earnings of the miners in these 
three classes of 4521 men ; and the Governor himself, who 
takes an absorbing interest in the affairs of this portion of his 
government, and to whose ready courtesy I am indebted for 
some of the information given in this letter, as well as for 
much formerly communicated in my correspondence, thinks 
my estimate is a very safe one. 

" But I must finish this long letter with a recapitulation, 
for I dread the inroads I have made upon your space : — 

Dollars. 

79 miners took out an aggregate of 926,680 

400 ditto, claim owners, took out 600,000 

1021 ditto, at 7 dollars a-day, in 107 days 764,729 

Total yield (nearly all) from Cariboo .. 2,291,409 

1500 miners who worked in other places dollars, 
for 180 days, at 10 dollars per diem 2,700,000 

2000 ditto, at 5 dollars 1,800,000 

4,500,000 

5000 miners— gross yield for 1861 6,791,409 

" This does not include the native Indians, as I have no 
means of estimating their earnings. They are beginning to 



Chap. XIV. ESTIMATE OF YIELD. 445 

' dig,' in imitation of the white men, in some parts, and will 
eventually increase the yield of gold, as the desire for wealth 
grows upon them. As a proof of their aptitude and success 
in this, to them, new field of labour, I may mention that the 
Bishop of Columbia found a gang of them 'washing' on 
Bridge River last summer, and that he had the day's earnings 
of one Indian weighed when he ceased hia labours, and found 
it to contain one ounce of gold. His Lordship purchased it 
of him, paying him 16 dollars 50 cents, the current issue, 
and carried it away as /'/*." 

The return of the assays of Cariboo gold, given by the same 
gentleman, are also of permanent interest, as showing the 
value of the dust. The highest assayed by Messrs. Marchand 
and Co., from whom the return is obtained, from Davis 
Creek, was 718 fine, value per ounce 18 doll. 97*04 c, or 
about 31. Ids. The lowest, which came from Williams Creek, 
was 810 fine, value per ounce 16 doll. 74-J2 c. (about 
31. i)s:ld.). The average value of all Cariboo dust is 854 
fine, value per ounce 17 doll. 05*37 c. (31. 13$. 6d.). 

In conclusion, I have merely to add, that I remained with 
the 'Hecate' at San Francisco until she was repaired, when, 
on the 21st October, 18G1, I left that place in the United 
States mail steamer 'Orizaba,' and on the 27th November 
arrived " home." 



( 447 ) 



APPENDIX. 



EXPLORATIONS IN JERVIS INLET AND DESOLATION SOUND, 
BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



Mr. William Downie to Governor James Douglas. 
Sir, Victoria, Vancouver Island, March 19th, 1859. 

I have the honour to inform your Excellency of my return to Victoria, 
after a sojourn of sixteen weeks in British Columbia. 

I have been for the last month in Desolation Sound. The snow and rain 
set in so as to make it impossible to start over the mountains from the 
head of Jervis Inlet to the Upper Fraser River for some time. 

I then thought it would be as well to visit the Klahous country, as I had 
heard a great deal about it. 

We started from the head of Jervis Inlet on the 22nd of February for 
Desolation Sound, in a small canoe with four Indians, pick, pan, shovel, 
and rocker ; came down the west entrance of Jervis Inlet, which is much 
better than the eastern. From Scotch-Fir Point, up the coast, it is shallow, 
and rocks and reefs miming out a good distance from the shore. 

It was most refreshing to come down on the gulf, where the land had all 
the appearance of spring, and after being so long up the inlet. No snow 
on any of the islands along the coast except Tarada. Savary Island has all 
the appearance of a farm under cultivation, from the abundance of grass on 
it : large patches of farming land make it look very enticing, but the water 
is scarce for farming purposes ; yet there are excellent pastures for stock all 
the year round. The mainland opposite this island changes in appearance 
with regard to the rock formation : quartz and slate along the shore up to 
Sarah Point. 

We arrived safe in Desolation Sound, which does certainly look somewhat 
desolate in a snow-storm ; but I am well pleased with the prospect of this 
section. 

This is the first time I have seen pure veins of sulphuret of iron, which 
looks very much like silver. The first I saw of it was a small square piece 
in the possession of an Indian : I offered him some tobacco for it, but he 
would not part with it, even if I gave him its weight in gold. I came 
across a number of seams of the same kind. It lies in the quartz, the same 
as gold. I have no idea that the gold is confined to Fraser River alone ; 
and if it can only be found from the seaboard or on the rivers, at the head 
of some of these inlets, the country will soon be prospected. 



448 EXPLORATIONS IN JEKVIS INLET App. 

Bute Inlet (Homathco), that runs so much farther north than this< inlet, 
has a large river emptying into it from the north-west. This river looks 
most favourable for gold, and I should much like to have prospected it ; hut 
the Indians would not go, as they were afraid of the Euclitus tribes, but the 
principal reason was that the canoe was small, and we were not altogether 
prepared to give it a fair trial. It was snowing most of the time, and 
rather discouraging. 

Camped near the Klahous Indians' village : they paid me a visit, as a 
matter of course, and I gave them each a small piece of tobacco. They 
seemed well pleased ; but would have a look at our mining tools, and 
canoe, and blankets, and general appearance. When they had satisfied 
themselves on these points, they told my Indians I was not a Tyee — mean- 
ing a chief, a person of consequence (this was the unkindest cut of all). 
My Indians told them I was a Tyee ; but it was of no use. They said a 
Tyee would have a large canoe and plenty of blankets, whereas there was 
nothing of the kind visible ; only picks, pans, and an old rocker, and what 
was the use of that among Indians ? 

I did not feel disposed to find fault with the poor Klahons Indians for 
judging from outward appearance, and, upon the whole, I got along with- 
them very well. We got a few potatoes from them, so there must be some- 
thing else besides rocks in Desolation Sound. 

We went up to the head of the inlet, where the " Deserted Village " is on 
the map, but there were no Indians there. It looked as much like a de- 
serted tillage as it did when it was named by Vancouver. About two 
miles above this the river comes in from the north-east. The sand wash- 
ing out of the river has formed a large flat at the head of the inlet, in some 
places dry at low- water. We had some difficulty in getting the canoe into 
the river, which is also shallow, being filled up with sand from the continued 
wash from the mountains. 

We went up the river about five miles. The Indians told me it would 
take five days to go to the head of it. Judging from the way a canoe goes 
up such rivers, the distance would be about sixty miles, which must be a 
long distance above the Quamish, and would not be far from the Lilloett. 
The Indians have gone this route to the head of Bridge River (Hoystier), 
which it may prove to be the best route to try. It is very evident there is 
a pass in the Coast Range here that will make it preferable to Jervis Inlet 
or Howe Sound. If a route can be got through, it will lead direct to Bridge 
River. 

I have seen more black sand here in half a day than I did in California in 
nine years ; it looks clear and bright, as if it came from quartz. 

Seeing that it was out of the question to proceed farther, we put back and 
came down along shore, breaking and trying the rocks, but did not discover 
any gold : lots of iron pyrites or sulphuret of iron. 

The land on each side of the river is low, and must be overflowed in many 
places in spring ; but for all that, if a trail can be found through, it will not 
be difficult to make a road along the banks of the river. 

In coming down we passed through what on the map is called the Island 



App. and desolation sound. 449 

" Piedonda." This is a fine passage, and shortens the distance about ten 
miles in going to Klahous Inlet. 

The distance fronHUahous Inlet to Homathco Inlet (Bute Inlet on the 
chart) is about thirty miles ; but I could not get the Indians to go in the 
small canoe. 

The Indians told me that the colour of the water in the large river that 
comes in at the head of Homathco from the north-west was the same as 
Fraser River; and thus when I proceed thither I should be in or near the 
range of Queen Charlotte Islands, where I should get gold. 

We had a hard passage to Nanaimo ; but arrived all right, paid off the 
Indians, and heard from Captain Stuart that he had forwarded supplies to 
Jervis Inlet by order of your Excellency, so that I was all ready for a start 
again to Desolation Sound, if I could obtain a small decked-boat. 



Fort St. James, Stuart Lake, New Caledonia, 
Sir, 10th October, 1859. 

I beg to make the following report of my trip to Queen Charlotte 
Islands, and my journey thence by Fort Simpson to the interior of British 
Columbia. 

Having left Victoria on the 27th July, with twenty-seven practical 
miners, with stores, &c, for three months, we arrived in Gold Harbour, 
Queen Charlotte Islands, safely, on the 6th August, and immediately set 
about prospecting. 

We examined the spot where a large quantity of gold was formerly taken 
out, and discovered a few specks of it in the small quartz-seams that run 
through the slate ; two of the party blasting the rock, while others pro- 
spected round the harbour. 

I then proceeded in a canoe to Douglas Inlet, which runs in south of 
Gold Harbour, hoping to find traces of the Gold Harbour lead, but without 
success. The nature of the rock is trap or hornblende, with a few poor 
seams of quartz straggling over the surface. Granite was found at the head 
of this inlet, but not a speck of gold. Next day we went up an inlet to the 
north of Gold Harbour, and here a white rock showed itself on the spur of 
a mountain. 

After a difficult ascent we found it to be nothing but weather-beaten, 
sun-dried granite, instead of quartz. Farther up the inlet we saw a little 
black slate and some talcose rock, but nothing that looked like gold. On 
our return, we found that the men engaged in blasting the rock had given 
it up ; the few surface specks being all the gold that could he found. 

The large amount of gold that was formerly found with so little difficulty 
existed in what is called an offshot or blow. The question then arises how 
did the gold get here. Some of our party were of opinion that a gold lead 
exists close at hand, but it can only be put down to one of the extraordinary 
freaks of nature so often found in a mineral country. 

The offshoots in question are not uncommon, as I have often seen them in 
California. On such a discovery being made, hundreds of miners would take 

2 G • 



450 EXPLOEATIONS IN JEEVIS INLET App. 

claims in all directions near it, and test the gronnd in every way ; but 
nothing farther could be found, except in the one spot, about 70 feet in length, 
running south-east and north-west : on being worked about 15 feet it gave 
out. Before work commenced I have blown the sand off a vein of pure gold. 
I now proposed to test the island farther, and started for the Skidegate 
Channel. At a village of the Cross wer Indians, where we were windbound, 
the appearances were more favourable. Talcose slate, quartz, and red earth 
were seen. "We tried to discover gold, but without success. Sulphuret of 
iron was found in abundance, and we discovered traces of previous prospect- 
ings. The Indians understand the search for gold well, and detect it in the 
rocks quicker even than I can. 

The coast from the Casswer Indian village to Skidegate Channel is wilder 
than any I have ever before travelled ; and we did not care to hunt for gold 
in such a place. Five Indians were drowned here to-day while fishing. 

At the Skidegate Channel we found black slate and quartz prevailing ; 
farther north granite appears, and then sandstone and conglomerate ; and as 
we were now in a coal country, it was of no use to look for gold. 

We saw coal here, but I cannot speak as to its quality, not being a judge 
of it. The formation is similar to that of Nanaimo. From this we re- 
turned to Gold Harbour, where a party which had remained behind to 
prospect inland had met with no better success than ourselves. We then 
consulted what was the best thing to do. I did not wish to return to 
Victoria, as your Excellency had desired me to explore some of the inlets 
on the mainland ; and I left Gold Harbour with a party of fourteen men for 
Fort Simpson, where we arrived in eight days. The north-west coast of 
Queen Charlotte Islands is a low sand and gravel flat, having no resemblance 
to a gold country. 

I left Fort Simpson for the Skeena Eiver on the 31st August. From Fort 
Simpson to Fort Essington is about 40 miles. The salt water here is of a 
light-blue colour, like the mouth of Fraser Eiver, and runs inland about 
30 miles. The coarse-grained quartz of Fort Simpson is no longer seen 
here, and granite appears ; and the banks of the river are low, and covered 
with small hard wood and cotton-trees, with some good-sized white oaks, 
the first I have seen west of Fraser Eiver. 

Vessels drawing upwards of 4 feet of water cannot go more than 20 miles 
up the Skeena Eiver ; and it is very unlike the deep inlets to the southward. 
At our camp here some Indians visited us, and told us that they were 
honest ; but next morning the absence of my coat rather negatived their 
statement. Next day we found the river shoal for loaded canoes, as it 
had fallen much. At our next camp I went up a small river called Scena- 
toys, and the Indians showed me some crystallized quartz, and to my sur- 
prise a small piece with gold in it, being the first I had seen in this part. 
The Indian took me to a granite slide, whence, as he asserted, the piece of 
quartz had come. I found some thin crusts of fine quartz, but no gold. 
From the river Scenatoys to Fort Essington, at the mouth of the Skeena 
Eiver, is 75 miles. A little below the Scenatoys an Indian trail leads to 
Fort Simpson, through a low pass ; and the distance is not great. 



App. AND DESOLATION SOUND. 451 

From this, 10 miles farther up, was a river called the Toes. On the 
south side hence is an Indian trail to the Kitloops on the Salmon River, the 
south branch of Salmon, which river is called Kittama. 

By this time we were fairly over the Coast Range, and the mountains 
ahead of us did not look very high ; the current here was very strong, and 
much labour was required to get our canoe along, and we had to pull her 
up by a rope from the shore. 

Gold is found here, a few specks to the pan, and the whole country looks 
auriferous, wi tli fine bars and flats with clay on the bars ; the mountains 
look red, and slate and quartz were seen. , 

The next camp was at the village of^Kitalaska, and I started in a light 
canoe ahead of my party, as our canoe, by all accounts, could not proceed 
much farther, and I then determined to penetrate to Fort Fraser. The Indian 
who was with me told me that a large stream, called the Kitchumsala, 
comes in from the north ; the land on it is good, and well adapted for 
farming, and that the Indians grow plenty of potatoes. To the south is a 
small stream called the Chimkoatsh, on the south of which is the Plumbago 
Mountain, of which I had some in my hand, as clear as polished silver, and 
runs in veins of quartz. 

Near to this, on a tree, are the words " Pioneer, H.B.C.," and nearly 
overgrown with bark. The Indian told me it was cut by Mr. John Work, 
a long time ago. . , 

From this to the village of Kitcoonsa the land improves, the mountains 
recede from the river, and fine flats run away 4 or 5 miles back to their 
bases, where the smoke is seen rising from the huts of the Indians engaged 
in drying berries for the winter. These Indians were very kind to us, and 
wished me to build a house there, and live with them. 

Above the village of Kitcoonsa the prospect of gold is not so good as 
below. As the season was so advanced I was not able to prospect the hills, 
which look so well, and unless the Government takes it in hand, it will be 
a long while before the mineral resources of this part of British Columbia 
can be known. This is the best-looking mineral country I have seen in 
British Columbia. ^ 

From here to the village of Kitsagatala the river is rocky and dangerous, 
and our canoe was split from stem to stern. 

At Kitsagatala we entered a most extensive coal country, the seams being 
in sight, and cut through by the river, and running up the banks on both 
sides, varying in thickness from 3 to 35 feet. 

The veins are larger on the east side, and are covered with soft sandstone, 
which gives easily to the pick ; on the west side quartz lines the seams, 
which are smaller. The veins dip into the bank for a mile along the river, 
and could easily be worked by tunnels on the face, or by sinking shafts from 
behind on the flats, as they run into soft earth. 

I have seen no coal like this in all my travels in British Columbia and 
Vancouver Island. 

We experienced some danger from Indians here, but by a small present 

2 G 2 



452 EXPLORATIONS IN JERVIS INLET App. 

of tobacco, and by a determined and unconcerned aspect, I succeeded in 
avoiding the danger of a collision with them. We could go no farther in 
the canoe than Kittamarks or the Forks of the Skeena River, and we had 
been twenty days from Fort Simpson, though the journey could have been 
done in a third of that time. 

On the 21st September I left Kittamarks with two white men and two 
Indians, and started over a fine trail through a beautiful country for Fort 
Fraser. We crossed over an Indian suspension-bridge, and entered some 
first-rate land, our course being about east ; we completed about 12 miles 
to-day. Next day it rained hard, but we succeeded in doing 12 miles 
again, passing through as fine a farming country as one could wish to see. 
To the south-east a large open space appeared, and I have since learnt that 
a chain of lakes runs away here, being the proper way to Fort Fraser ; but 
as I always follow my Indian guides implicitly, I did so on this occasion. 
The third day the weather was fine, but the trail not so good ; it ran along 
the side of a mountain, but below the trail was good and grass abundant. 
My Indians started after a goat up the mountain, but were quickly driven 
back by three bears. The fourth day we crossed what is called the Rocky 
Pass, which may be avoided by keeping the bottom. To the north a chain 
of mountains were seen covered with snow, distant about 30 miles, where 
the Hudson Bay Company have a post called Bears' Fort ; to the south is 
the Indian village Kispyaths ; along the bottom runs the Skeena, past the 
village of Allagasomeda, and farther up the village of^Kithathratts, on 
the same river. 

On the fifth day we encountered some dangerous-looking Indians, but got 
away from them. We passed through a fine country, with cotton-trees and 
good soil. 

We now arrived at the village of Naas-Glee where the Skeena River 
rises. We were again on the river which we had left five days ago, having 
travelled 55 miles, when we might have come by the river. We had great 
difficulty with the Indians here, and it was fortunate that I knew the name 
of the chief, as otherwise they would have seized all our property ; as it 
was, they surrounded us, and were most importunate : one w T anted my coat, 
another my gun, a third took my cap from my head, and I really thought 
that they would murder us. These Indians are the worst I have seen in 
all my travels. Naas-Glee is a great fishing-station, and all the worst 
characters congregate there to lead an indolent life. Thousands of salmon 
were being dried at this village. 

We hardly knew 7 what to do, as they told us that it was ten days to Fort 
Fraser, and if we returned they would have robbed us of everything. I 
therefore determined to go on, if the chief Norra would accompany me, and 
on giving him some presents he consented to do so. The river from Naas- 
Glee downwards is very rapid, but as the banks are low and flat a waggon- 
road or railroad could easily be made. 

The land around Naas-Glee is excellent, and wild hay and long grass 
abound. Potatoes are not grown here, ow T ing to the thieving of the Indians. 



Ait. AND DESOLATION SOUND. 453 

There is no heavy pine timber hereabouts, and the canoes are made of cotton- 
wood. 

Above Naas-Glee the river was very rapid, and it required all our energy 
to get along, as we had but a small quantity of dried salmon to last us ten 
days. Ten miles above Naas-Glee is an old Indian village, called "Whatatt ; 
here the shoal-water ends, and we enter the Babine Lake. Going through 
a fine country, we accomplished 20 miles this day, the lake being broad 
and deep. Next morning, to my surprise, I found a canoe at our camp, 
with Frenchmen and Indians, in charge of Mr. Savin Hamilton, an officer 
in the service of the Hudson Bay Company, from Fort St. James, Stuart 
Lake, New Caledonia, whither we were bound. He was on his way to Naas- 
Glee to purchase fish, and advised me to return with him there, and 
then to accompany him to Stuart Lake ; but as I had seen enough of Naas- 
Glee I declined his offer, with thanks. Mr. Hamilton expressed his sur- 
prise that we had managed to get away from Naas-Glee, as w T e were the 
first white men who had come through this route ; and even he found much 
difficulty with the Indians there. Having persuaded Narra, the chief, to 
let us have his canoe, we bid farewell to Mr. Hamilton, and proceeded on 
our journey. 

It was fortunate that we sent back our two Indians, as otherwise we 
should have suffered from want of food, and as it was we reached Stuart 
Lake only with great difficulty. We made a fine run to-day before a fair 
wind to Fort Killamoures, which post is only kept up in the winter. Our 
course from Naas-Glee to this place was south-east, and the distance about 
50 miles. The land is good the whole way, with long grass on the benches 
near the fort, which is a very lonely place. It is a great pity to see this 
beautiful country, so well adapted to the w r ants of man, lying waste, when 
so many Englishmen and Scotsmen would be glad to come here and till the 
soil. Babine Lake is deep, and in some places 5 ©r 6 miles wide, with 
islands and points of land to afford shelter from storms. From Fort Killa- 
moures to the head of Babine is about 40 miles, direction south-south-east. 
From the head down about 20 miles it runs east and west. We arrived at 
the head of Babine on the seventh day after leaving Naas-Glee. We had 
seen no Indians, nor snow, and had made a favourable journey. 

The district we had passed was well adapted for farming. Some of the 
land is rocky, but on the whole it is a fine country. 

At the head of Babine Lake there is a good site for a town, and a harbour 
could be made, as a stream flows in which would supply the town with 
water. This is what I call the head-water of the Skeena Kiver. The lake 
is navigable for steamers, and 100 miles in length. 

From this to Stuart Lake there is a portage over a good trail, through the 
finest grove of cotton-wood I have ever seen. The ground was thickly 
strewed with yellow leaves, giving the scene quite an autumnal appearance, 
and presenting a picture far different to what we expected in this part of 
British Columbia. 

Six miles from Babine we came to a small lake where were some Indians 



454 EXPLOKATIONS IN JEKYIS INLET, &c. App. 

fishing for herrings. On onr approach they appeared undecided whether to 
run or remain. I asked them for some food, and they soon provided us with 
some fish, which refreshed us much, and having paid for our repast, we 
started again. From this a small stream runs a distance of 4 miles to Stuart 
Lake. 

Arrived at Stuart Lake, we found no means of crossing, no Indians to 
direct us, and no food to sustain us, nor had we any shot to enable us to kill 
ducks. We camped here three nights without food, sleeping the greater 
part of the time to stifle our hunger. The only thing that supported us was 
the great idea of the enterprise in which we were engaged, having been the 
first to explore the route from the Pacific to Fraser Eiver. 

One of our party found an old canoe split to pieces ; this was rigged on a 
raft of logs, as well as circumstances would admit. 

I returned to the Indians above mentioned, and purchased a few herrings, 
and walked back to our camp with difficulty, and found my limbs giving 
way. Next morning we started on our frail raft, expecting every moment 
to go down ; we were obliged to sit perfectly still, as the least movement 
would have upset us. A slight breeze sprung up, and a small sea washed 
over us, and we had to run for a lee shore, where kind Providence sent an 
Indian to succour us. He welcomed us with a " Bonjour," invited us to 
his lodge, and gave us most excellent salmon-trout from the lake. We had 
at last reached this spot, with thankful hearts for our preservation through 
so many dangers. We stayed a night with this good Indian, and next day 
gave him a blanket to take us to the Fort. We abandoned our old canoe 
without regret, and proceeded towards our destination. The Indians all 
along this were very kind to us. About half-way across Stuart Lake we 
obtained a small prospect of gold. On the north side of the lake, for about 
20 miles, the ground is rocky ; but south, towards the Fort, the land is good, 
and will produce anything. 

We reached Fort St. James on the 9th October, and were received by Mr. 
Peter Ogden with that kindness and hospitality which I have always found 
at the Hudson Bay Company's ports. 

The Fort is very much exposed to all winds, and I found it colder than 
anywhere on the journey. 

Stuart Lake is 50 miles long. The portage to Babine 10 miles ; Babine 
Lake 100 miles ; from Naas-Glee to Fort Simpson 250 miles, and 200 miles 
from Fort Simpson to Gold Harbour, Queen Charlotte Islands. 

The names of the two men who accompanied me were William Manning 
an Englishman, and Frank Chotean a French Canadian. It is possible 
that I shall prospect the Fraser a little farther this fall. 



Apr. LIST OP TREES AND SHRUBS. 455 



LIST OF TREES AND SHRUBS OF ECONOMIC VALUE, FOUND 
IN VANCOUVER ISLAND. 

. (Extracted from Dr. Forbes's Prize Essay on Vancouver Island.) 

Popular Names. Scientific Names. 

The Douglas Pine or Oregon Red Pine Abies Dougksii. 

Spruce Fir „ Menziesii. 

Yellow Fir „ grandis. 

Balsam Fir 

Hemlock Spruce Abies Canadiensis. 

Wild Cherry Cerasus mollis. 

White Pine or Weymouth Pine .. Pinus strobus. 

Yellow Pine Pinus ponderosa. 

Cedar — the Oregon Cedar . . . . Thuja gigantea. 

Yellow Cypress Cupressus Metkatenses. 

Arbor Vitas Thuja plicata. 

Yew Taxus brevifolia. 

The Oak Quercus GaiTyana. 

The white, or broad-leaved Maple . . Acer macrophyllum. 

Vine ditto .. Acer circinatum. 

The Oregon Alder Almas Oregona. 

Oregon Dogwood Cornus Nuttallii. 

Arbutus Arbutus Menziesii. 

American Aspen Populus tremuloides. 

Oregon Crab Apple 

The Willow Pyrus rivularis. 

Cottonwood Salix Scouleriana. 

Shrubbery Undergrowth. 

The Hazel Corylus Americana. 

Red Cornel, or Willow Cornus Drummondii. 

Holly-leaved Barberry or Oregon 

grape Berberis aquifolium. 

Mock Orange or Seringa . . ' . . Philadelphus macropetalus. 

Red, white, and black Raspberry .. Rubus Nutkanus, leucodermis. 

Three kinds of Gooseberry .. .. Ribes divaricatum, niveum, and san- 

guineum. 

Serviceberry Amelanchier Canadiensis. 

Elder Sambucus glauca. 

Sallat Berry Gaultheria shallon. 

Huckleberry, or Blceberry . . . . Vaccinium ovatum, ovalifolium, 

Blackberry (Rubus) and parvifolium. 

Snowberry Symphoricarpus racemosus. 

Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis. 

Oregon Buckthorn Frangula Purshiana. 

Honeysuckle Lonicera occidentalis. 



456 LAND PROCLAMATIONS. App. 

Popular Names. Scientific Names. 

Ivy Hedera. 

Hawthorn . . Cratoegus Coccinea ? 

Fly Blossom, or Bearbeny .. .. Lonicera involucrata. 

Wild Rose Rosa fraxinifolia. 

GRASSES, LEGUMINOUS PLANTS, &c. &c. 

White Clover Trifolium repens. 

Reed Meadow-grass Glyceria aquatica. 

Bent Spear-grass Poa pratensis ? 

Sweet Grass Festuca pratensis. 

Wild Timothy, or Herd's Grass . . Phleum pratense. 

Wild Oat Stipa avenacea ? 

Broad-leaved Rush Juncus. 

Cowslip Primula veris, vel Douglasii. 



BRITISH COLUMBIA. 
Land Proclamations 

By his Excellency James Douglas, Companion of the Most Honourable 
Order of the Bath, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British 
Columbia. 

No. I. Dated Uth Feb. 1859. 

Whereas it is expedient to publish for general information the method to 
be pursued with respect to the alienation and possession of agricultural 
lands, and of lands proposed for the sites of towns in British Columbia, and 
with reference also to the places for levying shipping and customs duties, 
and for establishing a capital and port of entry in the said Colony : 

Now, therefore, I, James Douglas, Governor of the said Colony, do pro- 
claim and declare as follows, viz. : — 

1. All the lands in British Columbia, and all the mines and minerals 
therein, belong to the Crown in fee. 

2. The price of lands not being intended for the sites of towns, and not 
being reputed to be mineral lands, shall be ten shillings per acre, payable 
one-half iu cash at the time of the sale, and the other half at the end of two 
years from such sale. Provided that under special circumstances some 
other price or some other terms of payment may, from time to time, be 
specially announced for particular localities. 

3. It shall also be competent to the Executive at any time to reserve 
such portions of the unoccupied Crown lands, and for such purposes, as the 
Executive shall deem advisable. 

4. Except as aforesaid, all the land iu British Columbia will be exposed 
in lots for sale, by public competition, at the upset price above mentioned, 
as soon as the same shall have been surveyed and made ready for ^ale. 



App. land proclamations. 457 

Due notice will be given of all such sales. Notice at the same time will be 
given of the upset price and terms of payment, when they vary from those 
above stated, and also of the rights reserved (if any) for public convenience. 

5. All lands which shall remain unsold at any such auction may be sold 
by private contract at the upset price, and on the terms and conditions 
herein mentioned, on application to the Chief Commissioner of Lands and 
Works. 

6. Unless otherwise specially notified at the time of sale, all such sales 
of Crown land shall be subject to such public rights of way as may at any 
time after such sale, and to such private rights of way, and of leading or 
using water for animals, and for mining and engineering purposes, as may 
at the time of such sale be specified by the Chief Commissioners of 
Lands and Works. 

7. Unless otherwise specially announced at the time of sale, the convey- 
ance of the land shall include all trees and all mines and minerals within 
and under the same, except mines of gold and silver. 

8. When any "Ditch Privilege" shall be granted, there shall be included 
(unless excluded by express words) the right to lop, dress, or fell any trees 
standing on unoccupied Crown lands, which in the opinion of the pro- 
prietors of the ditch might, by their accidental fall or otherwise, endanger 
the safety of the ditch or any part thereof. 

No. II. Dated ±th Jan. 1860. 

1. From and after the date hereof, British subjects and aliens who shall 
take the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty and her successors, may acquire 
unoccupied and unreserved and unsurveyed Crown land in British Columbia 
(not being the site of an existent or proposed town, or auriferous land 
available for mining purposes, or an Indian reserve or settlement), in fee 
simple, under the following conditions : — 

2. The person desiring to acquire any particular plot of land of the cha- 
racter aforesaid shall enter into possession thereof and record his claim to 
any quantity not exceeding 160 acres thereof, with the magistrate residing 
nearest thereto, paying to the said magistrate the sum of 8s. for recording 
such claim. Such piece of land shall be of a rectangular form, and the 
shortest side of the rectangle shall be at least two-thirds of the longest side. 
The claimant shall give the best possible description thereof to the magis- 
trate with whom his claim is recorded, together with a rough plan thereof, 
and identify the plot in question by placing at the corners of the land four 
posts, and by stating in his description any other landmarks on the said 
160 acres which he may consider of a noticeable character. 

3. Whenever the Government survey shall extend to the land claimed, 
the claimant who has recorded his claim as aforesaid, or his heirs, or in case 
of the grant of certificate of improvement hereinafter mentioned, the assigns 
of such claimant shall, if he or they shall have been in continuous occupa- 
tion of the same land from the date of the record aforesaid, be entitled to 
purchase the land so pre-empted at such rate as may for the time being be 



458 LAND PROCLAMATIONS. App. 

fixed by the Government of British Columbia, not exceeding the sum of 10s. 
per acre. 

4. No interest in any plot of land acquired as aforesaid shall, before pay- 
ment of the purchase-money, be capable of passing to a purchaser unless the 
vendor shall have obtained a certificate from the nearest magistrate that he 
has made permanent improvements on the said plot to the value of 10s. per 
acre. 

5. Upon payment of the purchase-money, a conveyance of the land pur- 
chased shall be executed in favour of the purchaser, reserving the precious 
minerals, with a right to enter and work the same in favour of the Crown, 
its assigns and licencees, 

6. Priority of title shall be obtained by the person first in occupation, 
who shall first record his claim in manner aforesaid. 

7. Any person authorized to acquire land under the provisions of this 
Proclamation may purchase, in addition to the land pre-empted, in manner 
aforesaid, any number of acres not otherwise appropriated, at such rate as 
may be fixed by the Government, at the time when such land shall come 
to be surveyed, not to exceed 10s. per acre ; 5s. to be paid down, and the 
residue at the time of survey. 

8. In the event of the Crown, its assigns or licencees, availing itself, or 
themselves, of the reservation mentioned in clause 5, a reasonable compen- 
sation for the waste and damage done shall be paid by the person entering 
and working to the person whose land shall be wasted or damaged as afore- 
said ; and in case of dispute, the same shall be settled by a jury of six men 
to be summoned by the nearest magistrate. 

9. Whenever any person shall permanently cease to occupy land pre- 
empted as aforesaid, the magistrate resident nearest to the land in question 
may in a summary way, on being satisfied of such permanent cessation, 
cancel the claim of the person so permanently ceasing to occupy the same, 
and record the claim thereto of any other person satisfying the requisitions 
aforesaid. 

10. The decision of the magistrate may be appealed by either party to the 
decision of the Judge of the Supreme Court of Civil Justice of British 
Columbia. 

11. Any person desirous of appealing in manner aforesaid may be re- 
quired, before such appeal be heard, to find such security as may be hereafter 
pointed out by the rules or orders hereinafter directed to be published. 

12. The procedure before the magistrate and judge respectively shall be 
according to such rules and orders as shall be published by such judge, with 
the approbation of the Governor for the time being of British Columbia. 

13. Whenever a person in occupation at the time of record aforesaid shall 
have recorded as aforesaid, and he, his heirs, or assigns, shall have continued 
in permanent occupation of land pre-empted, or of land purchased as afore- 
said, he or they may, save as hereinafter mentioned, bring ejectment or 
trespass against any intruder upon the land so pre-empted or purchased, to 
the same extent as if he or they were seized of the legal estate in possession 
in the land so pre-empted or purchased. 



App. land proclamations. 459 

14. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as giving a right to any 
claimant to exclude free miners from searching for am^ of the precious 
minerals or working the same upon the conditions aforesaid. 

15. The Government shall, notwithstanding any claim, record, or con- 
veyance aforesaid, be entitled to enter and take such portion of the land 
pre-empted or purchased as may be required for roads or other public 
purposes. 

16. Water privileges and the right of carrying water for mining purposes 
may, notwithstanding any claim recorded, purchase, or conveyance afore- 
said, be claimed and taken upon, under, or over the said land so pre-empted 
or purchased as aforesaid, by free miners requiring the same, and obtaining 
a grant or licence from the Gold Commissioner, and paying a compensation 
for waste or damage to the person whose land may be wasted or damaged 
by such water privilege or carriage of water, to be ascertained in case of 
dispute in manner aforesaid. 

17. In case any dispute shall arise between persons with regard to any 
land so acquired as aforesaid, any one of the parties in difference may (before 
ejectment or action of trespass brought) refer the question in difference to 
the nearest magistrate, who is hereby authorized to proceed in a summary 
way to restore the possession of any land in dispute to the person whom he 
may deem entitled to the same, and to abate all intrusions, and award and 
levy such costs and damages as he may think fit. 



No. III. Dated 20th Jan. 1860. 

Whereas by virtue of an Act of Parliament made and passed in the 21st 
and 22nd years of the reign of Her most gracious Majesty the Queen, and 
by a Commission under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland, in conformity therewith, I, James Douglas, Governor 
of the Colony of British Columbia, have been authorized by Proclamation, 
issued under the Public Seal of the said Colony, to make laws, institutions, 
and ordinances for the peace, order, and good government of the same. 

And whereas it is expedient that town lots, suburban lots, and surveyed 
agricultural lands in British Columbia, which have been or which hereafter 
may be offered for sale at public auction, and remain unsold, should be sold 
by private contract. 

Now, therefore, I, James Douglas, Governor of British Columbia, by 
virtue of the authority aforesaid, do proclaim, order, and enact as follows : 

The Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works for the time being for 
British Columbia, and all magistrates, Gold Commissioners, and Assistant 
Gold Commissioners, by the said Chief Commissioner authorized in writing 
in that behalf, may sell by private contract any of the lots and lands herein- 
after mentioned, at the prices and on the terms hereinafter respectively 
stated, viz : — 

(«.) Town and suburban lots which have been or hereafter may be offered 



460 LAND PROCLAMATIONS. App. 

for sale at public auction, and remain unsold, at the upset price, and on the 
terms at and on which the same were offered for sale at such auction. 

(b.) Agricultural lands surveyed by the Government Surveyor which 
may or shall have been offered for sale at public auction, and remain unsold 
at 10s. per acre, payable one-half in cash at the time of sale, and the other 
half at the expiration of two years from such sale. 

And the purchaser of any agricultural land aforesaid shall purchase, 
subject to such rights of way and water as may be hereafter declared by 
some writing under the hand of the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works 
aforesaid. 

No. IV. Dated ldth Jan. 1861. 

Whereas, under and by virtue of an Act of Parliament made and passed 
in the session of Parliament held in the 21st and 22nd years of the reign of 
Her Majesty Queen Victoria, intituled * An Act to provide for the govern- 
ment of British Columbia,' and by a commission under the Great Seal of 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, I, James Douglas, have 
been appointed Governor of the said Colony, and have been authorized by 
Proclamation under the Public Seal of the said Colony to make laws, insti- 
tutions, and ordinances for the peace, order, and good government of the 
same. 

And whereas, by a Proclamation issued under the Public Seal of the said 
Colony, on the 4th day of January, 1860, the price of unsurveyed land 
acquired by purchase or pre-emption under the provisions of the said Pro- 
clamation, was stated to be at such rate as might for the time being be 
fixed by the Government of British Columbia, not exceeding the sum of 
10s. per acre. 

And whereas, by a Proclamation issued under the Public Seal of the said 
Colony, on the 20th day of January, 1860, the price of agricultural land, 
surveyed by the Government Surveyor, which may or shall have been 
offered for sale at public auction and remain unsold, was fixed at 10s. per 
acre, payable one-half in cash at the time of sale, and the other half at the 
expiration of two years from the time of sale. 

And whereas I have been empowered by Her Majesty's Government to 
lower the price of country lands in British Columbia, in all cases, to the 
sum of 4s. 2d. per acre. 

Now, therefore, I do hereby declare, proclaim, and enact as follows : — 

I. So much of the said Proclamation of the 20th day of January, 1860, 
as fixed the price of surveyed agricultural land at 10s. per acre is hereby 
repealed. 

II. The price of all unsurveyed country land in British Columbia, whether 
acquired by pre-emption or purchase under the Proclamation dated the 
4th day of January, 1860, shall be 4s. 2d. per acre. 

III. The upset price of all country lands in British Columbia exposed for 
sale at public auction shall be 4s. Id. per acre. 



App. land peoclamations. 461 

IV. This Proclamation may be cited for all purposes as the l Country 
Land Act, 1861.' 

Issued under the Public Seal of the said Colony at Victoria, Van- 
couver Island, the 19th day of January, in the year of our Lord 
1861, and in the 24th year of Her Majesty's reign, by me, 

James Douglas. 

By cominand of his Excellency, 

William A. G. Young, 

Acting Colonial Secretary. 
A Proclamation, dated May 18, 1861, has also been issued, conferring 
certain remissions in the purchase-money of country lands purchased for 
actual settlement by retired military and naval officers. 



VANCOUVER ISLAND. 

Land Proclamations 

By his Excellency James Douglas, C.B., &c. &c. 

I. 

Whereas I have been empowered by Her Majesty's Government to fix the 
upset price of country land within the colony of Vancouver Island and its 
dependencies at 4s. 2d. per acre. 

And whereas I have been authorized as aforesaid to take such steps as 
may tend to promote the settlement of country land in the said colony. 

And whereas it is expedient to make public the method by which bond 
fide settlers may acquire the same land. 

Be it therefore known unto all men : 
All country land to be sold at 4s. 2d. per acre. 

I. That the upset price of all country land in Vancouver Island shall be 
from henceforth 4s. 2d. per acre. 

British subjects may enter upon and occupy land, not being otherivise 
reserved, in certain quantities and in certain districts. 

II. That from and after the date hereof, male British subjects, and aliens 
who shall take the oath of allegiance before the Chief Justice of Vancouver 
Island, above the age of eighteen years, may pre-empt unsold Crown lands 
in the districts of Victoria, Esquimalt, Metchosen, the Highlands, Sooke, 
North and South Saanich, Salt Spring Island, Sallas Island, and Chemanis 
(not being an Indian reserve or settlement), of the area and under the con- 
ditions following : 

A single man, 150 acres. 

A married man, whose wife is resident in the colony, 200 acres. 
For each of his children under the age of eighteen years, resident in the 
said colony, an additional 10 acres. 



462 LAND PROCLAMATIONS. App. 

Pre-emptor, before recording his claim, to take the oath of allegiance if a 
British subject who has become subject to some other nation. 

III. All British subjects, who shall be desirous of pre-empting, and who 
may, at the time of record, have taken the oath of allegiance to, or become 
the subject or citizen of any foreign Sovereign, state, or nation, shall, as a 
condition precedent to recording their claims, take the oath of allegiance in 
manner aforesaid. 

Pre-emptor to record his claim immediately on occupation. Fee. 

IV. Immediately after occupation, the pre-emptor shall record his claim 
at the office of the Surveyor-General at Yictoria ; paying for such record the 
sum of eight shillings and four pence. 

Regulating the form of claims. 

V. The land selected, if unsurveyed, shall be of a rectangular form, and 
the shortest side of said rectangle shall be two-fifths the length of the 
longest side ; and the boundaries of such land shall also run as nearly as 
possible by the cardinal points of the compass. 

VI. Where the land sought to be acquired is unsurveyed, and in whole 
or part bounded by rocks, mountains, lakes, swamps, the margin of a river, 
or the sea-coast, or other natural boundaries, then such natural boundaries 
may be adopted as the boundaries of the land selected. 

VII. The claimant shall, if the land is unsurveyed, give the best possible 
description thereof in writing to the Surveyor-General at the time of record, 
with a map thereof, and shall identify the land, by placing a post at each 
corner, and by stating in his description any other landmarks which may 
be of a noticeable character. 

Mode of recording claims in surveyed lands. 

VIII. If the land, however, be surveyed, the claimant shall give the 
description aforesaid by identification with the landmarks laid down by the 
Government Survey. 

Payment. 

IX. The claimant shall, if the land be unsurveyed, pay into the Land 
Office at Victoria the sum of four shillings and two pence per acre for the 
same as soon as the land is included within the Government Survey ; if the 
land be surveyed, he shall pay into the said Land Office the sum of four 
shillings and two pence per acre by three instalments, viz. : One shilling 
and one penny per acre within one year from the day of record ; one shilling 
and one penny per acre within two years from the said day of record, and 
two shillings within three years from the said day ; and any default in any 
of the payments aforesaid shall cause a forfeiture of the pre-emption claim, 
and of the instalments (if any) paid up. 

Certificate of improvement to be granted after two years' occupation and 
10s. per acre improvement. 

X. When the pre-emptor, his heirs or devisees, shall prove to the Sur- 
veyor-General, by the satisfactory evidence of third parties, that he has, or 
they have, continued in permanent occupation of the claim for two years 
from the date of record, and has or have made permanent improvements 



App. land proclamations. 463 

thereon to the value of ten shillings per acre, the said Surveyor-General 
shall issue to him -or them a certificate of improvement, in the form marked 
A in the schedule hereto. 

Holder of certificate of improvement may sell, lease, or mortgage. 

XI. Upon the grant of the certificate of improvement aforesaid, the person 
to whom the same is issued may, subject to any unpaid instalments, sell, 
mortgage, or lease the land in respect of which such certificate has been 
issued; but until the entirety of the purchase-money of the said land has 
been paid, no sale, mortgage, or lease of the said land shall be valid unless a 
certificate of improvement as aforesaid has been issued in respect thereof. 

Conveyance of surveyed lands. 

XII. Upon payment of the entirety of the purchase-money, a conveyance 
of the land shall be executed in favour of the pre-emptor, reserving to the 
Crown the right to take back so much thereof as may be required for roads 
or other public purposes, and reserving also the precious minerals, with a 
right to enter and work the same in favour of the Crown, its assigns and 
licencees. 

Conveyance of pre-empted claim in unsurveyed lands. 

XI II. If the land is not then included in the Government Survey, the 
conveyance shall, with the reservations aforesaid, be executed as soon as 
possible after the same is so included; and the pre-emptor shall, upon 
survey, be entitled to take any quantity of unprc-empted land, at the price 
of four shillings and two pence per acre, which may be laid off into the 
sections in which his pre-empted land is situate; or, if unwilling so to do, 
he shall forfeit so much of the pre-empted land as lies in those si* Jons 
which he is unwilling to purchase. 

Priorities, 

XIV. Priority of title shall be obtained by the person who, being in actual 
occupation, shall first record his claim in manner aforesaid. 

Forfeiture by cessation of occupation. 

XV. "Whenever any person shall cease to occupy land pre-empted as 
aforesaid for the space of two months, the Surveyor-General may, in a sum- 
mary way, on being satisfied of such permanent cessation, cancel the claim 
of the person so ceasing to occupy the same, and record de novo the claim 
of any other person satisfying the requisitions aforesaid ; and in the event 
of any person feeling aggrieved thereat, his remedy shall be personally 
against the person so recording. 

Compensation for waste or injury. 

XVI. In the event of the Crown, its assigns or licencees, availing itself 
or themselves of the reservation to enter and work the precious minerals as 
aforesaid, a reasonable compensation for the waste and damage done shall be 
paid by the person entering and working to the person whose land shall be 
wasted or damaged as aforesaid ; and in case of any dispute, a jury of six 
men, to be summoned by the Surveyor-General, shall settle the same. 

XVII. Nothing in the conditions hereinbefore contained, or in any title 



464 LAND PBOCLAMATIONS. App. 

to be derived hereunder, shall be construed as giving a right to any claimant 
to exclude licencees of the Crown from searching for any of the precious 
minerals in any unenclosed land on the conditions aforesaid. 

Saving of water privileges for mining purposes. 

XVIII. Water privileges, and the right of carrying water for mining 
purposes, may, notwithstanding any claim recorded, certificate of improve- 
ment, or conveyance aforesaid, be claimed and taken upon, under, or over 
the land so pre-empted by miners requiring the same, and obtaining a grant 
or licence from the Surveyor-General in that behalf, and paying a compen- 
sation for waste or damage to the person whose land may be wasted or 
damaged by such water privilege or carrying of water, to be ascertained, in 
case of dispute, by a jury of six men in manner aforesaid. 

Arbitration. 

XIX. In case any dispute shall arise between persons with regard to any 
land acquired as aforesaid, any one of the parties in difference may (before 
ejectment or action of trespass brought) refer the question in difference to the 
Surveyor-General, who is hereby authorised to proceed in a summary way 
to restore the possession of any land in dispute to the person whom he may 
deem entitled to the same ; and to abate all intrusions and award and levy 
such costs and damages as he may think fit, and for all or any of the pur- 
poses aforesaid to call in to his assistance the civil authorities or any process 
of law. 

Given under my hand, &c. 

James Douglas. 

II. 

Whereas I have been empowered by Her Majesty's Government to take 
such steps as may tend to promote the settlement of country land in the said 
colony. 

And whereas it is expedient to extend the time during which a person 
may cease to occupy land pre-empted under the provisions of a Proclamation 
given under my hand and the public seal of this colony, and dated the 19 th 
day of February, 1861. 

Now therefore, be it known unto all men that any person having pre- 
empted land under the provisions of the said Proclamation may, if he shall 
have been continuously in occupation of the same for the space of (8) eight 
calendar months next previously to his leaving, leave the same for any period 
not exceeding (6) six calendar months, provided that within (21) twenty- 
one days from the date of his leaving the same he shall fill in a memorandum 
in the book kept for that purpose in the Land Office at Victoria, with the 
particulars and in the manner therein contained. 

Given under my hand and the public seal, &c. 

James Douglas. 



i 



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INDEX. 



ADMIRAL. 
A. 

Admiral Island, 152. 

Admiralty Inlet, 23. 

Alberni Settlement, 229. 

Alexandria, Fort, 84. 

America, North-west, sketch of British 
possessions in, 1 ; claims of Great Bri- 
tain to, 8. 

American 'cuteness, 48 ; drinking habits, 
163; phraseology, 160. 

Anderson, Mr., 43. 

River, 108. 

Apostolus Valerianos. See Juan de Fuca. 

Arrownnith, Blount, 17u. 



E 



Babiue hake, 84. 

River, i&. 

< Bacchante,' H.M.S., 225. 

Bamfield, Mr., 107, 170, 270. 

Barclay Sound, 226. 

Barston, Mr., 147. 

Bauermann, Mr. 351. 

Baynes, Admiral Sir R. L., 153. 

Beaver Harbour, 182. 

Becher Bay, 22. 

Bentinck Arms, 146, 404. 

Berkeley, Captain, 6. 

Birds' down, symbolical use of, 269. 

Bishop of British Columbia, 107, 341. 

Boston Bar, 108. 

Boundary disputes, 9, 34, 89, 139; 
marks, 233. 

Bridge River, 131. 

British Columbia, area, 13 : bush in, 50, 
72, 88, 233 ; climate, 105 ; coast of, 
81 ; geology, 372, 374 ; inlets, 141 ; 
interior,' 383 ; land system, 393; na- 
tural resources, 405 ; routes to, 356. 

Buonaparte River, 125, 126. 

Burrard Inlet, 141. 

Bush in British Columbia, thickness of, 
50, 71, 88, 233. 

Bute Inlet, 144. 



I > IN CAN. 

c. 

California, 154. 

Camp-life in bush, 101 ; in boat---, 215. 

Canal de Uaro, 79. 

Cannibalism, Indian, 254, 287. ] 

Canoe journey, 60, 02, 64. 

Cariboo diggings, 85. 

■ Lake, ib. 

Cavendish, Captain, 3, 5. 
Cayonsh. See Lilloett. 
Chapean River and Valley, 127. 

I liver, 35. 
Chatham Point, 179. 
Chinook jargon, 244. 
Chowdar, 18. 
C<>al in British Columbia, 380 ; in Van 

couver Island, 35. 
Columbia River, 5, 81. 
Cook, Captain, 6. 
Cormorant Bay, 208. 
Courtenay River, 173. 
Coutts, Miss Burdett, 342. 
Cowitchen Harbour, 152. 

Indians, 342. 

Valley, 395. 

Cradles, Indian, 303. 



Deans Canal, 146. 

Deer in Orcas Island, 39. 

Deity, Indian notions of, 294. 

Derby, 72. 

Desolation Sound, 373. 

Discovery Island, 80. 

Disturbance at Esquimalt, 53 

Douglas, His Excellency J., C.B., 27, 49 

51, 

., Port, 136, 235. 

fir, the, 409, 410. 

Downie, Mr., 144, 187, 373. 

Drayton Harbour, 33. 

Duncan, Mr., the missionary teacher, 77, 

78, 249, 254, 263, 283, 288, 305, 307, 

309, 315, 321. 

2 H 



466 



INDEX. 



Eclipse, observations on, 206. 
Esquimalt, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 52. 
Expresses and Express-men, 71. 



Fargo Bar, 93. 

Fife Sound, 145. 

Fish, Indian mode of catching, 23, 254, 

406 ; quantity of, 405, 407, 419. 
Fish-priests, 259. 
Flat-head Indians, 277, 303. 
Flattery, Cape, 6, 19. 
Flood, Indian traditions of, 273. 
Flumes, 432. 

Fogs in Gulf of Georgia, 208, 214. 
Forbes, Dr., 376. 
Fort Conolly, 84. 

St: George, 84. 

* Forward,' H.M.S., 75, 206, 221, 223. 

Fountain, 131. 

Eraser, Mr. Simon, 7. 

River, 43, 49, 60, 63, 81-7, 90, 

95, 142. 

, upper canons of, 105. 

Fur Brigade, 124. 
Furs, value of, 185. 



Gambling, Indian, 30. 

' Ganges,' H.M.S., 140. 

Georgia, Gulf of, 32, 176, 275. 

Gold, discovery of, on Fraser Paver, 43 ; 
at Cariboo and Quesnelle Lakes, 85 ; 
at Queen Charlotte Island, 187. Me- 
thod of working, 426, 441. Estimate 
of yield of, 442. Assay of, 445. 

■ Harbour, 44. 

licences, 51. 

' Grappler,' H.M.S., 206. 

Grass in British Columbia and Vancouver 
Island, 109, 422. 

Green Lake, 200. 

Griffin, Mr., 40. 



Hope, 95. 

, Fort, 65. 

Howe Sound, 143. 

Hudson Bay Company, 5, 12, 30 ; hos- 
pitality, of, 65; life of employes, 115'; 
service and promotion, 117 ; posts and 
forts, 117, 184 ; defence of svstem, 
353. 

Hula dance of Sandwich Islands, 17. 



I, J. 

Jackass Mountain, 107. 
Jervis Inlet, 143, 191. 
Indians of Vancouver Island, 23, 30, 50, 
61, 72-8. 

of British Columbia, coast tribes, 

habits and dress, 99, 103, 119, 165 ; 
superstitions, 181, 186, 201; desire for 
instruction, 210 ; number of, 243 ; lan- 
guage, 244 ; food, 252, 254, 257 ; can- 
nibalism, 257 ; medicine-men, 260 ; 
religious feasts, 263 ; war, 270 ; sepul- 
ture, 271 ; social customs, 275-293. 

of Interior of British Columbia, 

life and habits, 295-340; friendly dis- 
position of, 424. 

Inkumtch, 132. 

Johnstone Strait, 208. 

Juan de Fuca, 3, 4, 5. 

, Strait of, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21. 

K 

Kame-hame-ha, King, 15, 16. 
Kamloops, Fort, 111, 115. 

, Lake, 125. 

Kamschatka, 5. 
Knight Inlet, 145. 



Laakine River, 192-2. 
Landey, 60, 89. 
Lilloett, 50, 132. 
Lopez Island, 39. 
Loughborough Inlet, 143. 
Lytton, 50, 109. 



Haro Archipelago, 38. 

Harrison Lake, 137. 

Harrison -Lilloett rou^e, 43, 50, 93,95,134. Mail, defective arrangements of, 25 

Harvey, Port, 208. % < Maitland, Admiral Sir T., 235. 

•Hecate,' H.M.S., 219, 221, 224, 226, Mare Island, 159. 

232, 237, 241. Masks, use of, by Indians. 268, 

Hills Bar, disturbance at, 59, 68. i Medicine-men, 260, 286, 323. 

Honolulu, 14-18. Miners, gold, 46, 49, 52, 59, 132. 



INDEX. 



46' 



Mining Bars, 65, 60. 
Missions to Indians, 305, 340. 
Moody, Port, 142. 
Mosquitoes, 135, 202. 
Mount St. Paul, 121. 
Mudge, Cape, 75. 



Nanaimo, 12, 35, 36, 172, 173. 
Nanoose Harbour, 165. 
Neah Bay, 22, 23. 
Negroes, 351. 
New Archangel, 12. 

Caledonia, 12. 

Newcastle Island, 35. 
New Langley. See Derby. 

Westminster, 72, 87, 88, 224. 

Nicola Lake, 113. 

River, 112. 

Nimpkish River, 178, 179. 
Nootka, 7. 

North-west passage, 3, 6. 

0. 

Orcas Island, 39. 

Ornaments worn by Indians, 281. 



Pacific Fur Company, 8. 

■ , shores of, 1, 2, 154. 

Palaver with Indians, 209. 
Palliser, Captain, 359. 
Pavilion, 129, 385, 

, Lake, 128. 

Pearce, Mr., report of districts near Na- 

naimo, 396. 
' Plumper,' H.M.S., 10, 11, 14, 24, 32, 34, 

35, 37, 43, 52, 53, 55, 60, 72, 79, 

138, 139, 153, 164, 188, 189, 191, 

206, 207, 221, 224. 
Pines, size of, 182. 
Polygamy, Indian, 276. 
Provost, Captain, 10, 338. 
Propitiatory feasts, Indian, 266. 
Prospecting for gold, 427. 
Provisions, dearness of, 56 ; prices of, 

401, 402. 



Quartz-crushing, 440. 
Queenborough. See New Westminster. 
Queen Charlotte Islands, 44, 186. 
Que-que-alla River, 67. 



Quesnelle Lake, 85, 
Quicksilver, 427. 



R. 



Race Islands, 21. 

Rain-makers, Indian, 803. 

Religious feasts, Indian, 2'33. 

Restaurants in British Columbia, 133, 205. 

Richards, Captain, 10, 11, 33, 166. 209, 
211. 

Roberts, Point, 52. 81. 

Roman Catholic Church in British Co- 
lumbia and Vancouver Island, 175, 
176, 306. 

Routes to British Columbia, 356. 

Rupert, Fort, 183, 184, 208, 209, 210. 

Russia, fur-trade of, 12; claims of, to North 
America, 8, 9. 



Saanieh Inlet, 152. 

St. Asnes Well, 137. 

St. Paul, Indian Chief, 76, 120. 

San Francisco, 155, 156, 157, 159. 

San Juan Island, 37, 39, 41, 80. 

Port, 22. 

Sandwich Islands, 14-19. 
'Satellite,' II. M.S., 10, 36, 51, 206. 
School, Indian, 315. 
Semiahmoo Bay, 32, 33, 52. 
Semilkameen Country, 387. 

Valley, 115. 

Seton lake, 135. 
Seymour Narrows, 176. 
Shooquahnats, Journal of, 338. 
Shuswap Indians, 118. 
Sluicing, gold-, 431, 435. 
Snags, 92. 

Songhie Indians, 30, 244. 
Sooke Harbour, 22, 394. 

Inlet, 22. 

Spain, settlements of, in the Pacific, 1, 

2,7. 
Spuzzum, 108. 

Steamboat-travelling on Fraser, 91. 
Stern-wheel steamers, 90. 
Sturgeon Bank, 81. 



Tatoosh Island, 19. 
Tea, wild, 413. 

' Termagant,' H.M.S., 206, 207. 
Thompson River, 111. 
Timber, 88, 154, 395, 397, 406, 407, 
410, 411. 



2 h 2 



468 



INDEX. 



Tobacco, Indian substitute for, 257, 413. 

Torrens, Captain, 187. 

Trading with Indians, 76. 

Tranquille River, 123. 

Triangle Island, 186. 

< Tribune,' H.M.S., 77. 

Trivett, Captain, 19. 



U. 



Ucletah Indians, 74, 75, 245. 
Umatilla snag, 92. 

United States, claims of, 8 ; disputes with 
Great Britain, 9 : treaty, ib. 



Vancouver, Captain, 6, 7. 
Victoria, 26, 27, 29, 31, 43, 44, 46, 55, 
75, 77, 190. 



Vigilance Committee of San Francisco, 
59, 157. 



W. 



Water, abundance of, in British Columbia, 

426. 
Weather, variableness of, 225, 422. 
Wells' express, 45, 71. 
Wild-fowl, 173. 
Wood, Dr., 11, 173, 191,371; account 

of Fauna and Flora of the colonies, 413. 
Wyadda Island, 22. 



Y. 

Yale, 58, 60, 67, 68, 93. 

, Mr., 60. 



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